SnowStorm
by Shade the Hero
Summary: A freak snow storm forces Zack to fight to survive in the frozen mountains. Surviving hypothermia isn't Zack's biggest worry however, it's earning the trust of a stubborn kid and keeping him hidden from a strict general. AU
1. Prologue: White Outs and Black Outs

_I know, what you're thinking. 'why is she writing another new story when she has so many that aren't finished?' Truth is, this idea has been floating around in my head for the past week now. I've tried to ignore it, but it won't leave me alone. So I finally gave in. It shouldn't get in the way of my other projects. just offer something to write until I get unstuck with the others. _

_I've read several FF7 fanfics over the past few months and while they've been unique and awesome in their own way I've never come across one like this. So, here goes an AU that I've never tried before. Hope you enjoy! ^^_

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**_Prologue_**

Strong gusty winds whipped through the frozen landscape. It whistled and howled through the snow-covered trees. The sun's light was blocked out by the towering cliffs of the mountains, though it would have little effect through the thick clouds that continued to dump heavy snow. Nothing could survive these hostile conditions for very long. Not even the local monsters would chance venturing out into this frozen hellstorm.

One lonely soul trekked onward, pushing through snow that measured up to his ankles, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it rose up to his knees. He had been called a fool many times, but even he knew when to seek shelter. That was what First Class SOLDIER Zack Fair was doing at the very moment, or, at least trying to do. He blew hot air into his hands in an attempt to keep himself warm. It only lasted seconds before he was engulfed by the cold once again.

"Shiva this sucks!"

He kept cursing his horrible luck, but wouldn't dare insult the dead. He had been on a mission to a small village where the monster population had grown to large numbers. Naturally these second-hand missions had fallen to him since the great General Sephiroth couldn't be bothered to take on the 'grunt missions' as he dubbed them. So it fell to Zack who selected a handful of Second and Third class SOLDIERs to accompany him, seven in all along with a few infantrymen who served at the pilots of the helicopter. They were almost to their destination when this massive blizzard struck without warning and blew them off course. The pilots tried to maneuver the aircraft out of the thick of the storm but were caught in the whiteout. They didn't see the cliff in time and the chopper's blades clipped the rocky cliff face, shredding the metal and causing the chopper to plummet to the mountain-side below.

Zack was the only survivor. When he realized the chopper had stopped tumbling he had to climb out of the pile of parachute sacks that he had fallen into as they crashed. It was those that had saved him, the others weren't as lucky. Now he was stuck out here with no radio, no food, no protection against the cold and not another living soul around to give him directions. It would be a long and lonely trek back to Midgar, or at least through the mountains. He just hoped he was going the right way.

The weather made the going horrible slow and as the minutes ticked by Zack found it harder and harder to see anything more than ten feet in front of him. He had a higher tolerance against the cold than most, but mako could only do so much. His hands and feet were numb and his eyes stung. He had to force them not to water, fearing that his tears would freeze, causing more pain. He prayed for something, anything to happen to get him out of the cold.

Zack thought he saw a flicker of light to the side of the mountain and headed for it. Hoping that it was a campfire. Even if it was home to a group of bandits it was better than freezing to death out in a blizzard. Zack was willing to take the chance. The snow was deeper now, almost past his knees, making snail forward inch by inch, but he was alright with it. Soon he'd be in the warmth of the fire. when he looked back up the light was gone and he saw nothing. His eyes widened with panic.

"No! Where'd the light go? It was there! Hello!"

He called out, hoping that whoever had the fire going would hear him and come back.

"Please!"

He struggled against the snow, forcing himself to go faster. He pushed himself past his limits.

"Please," he panted as his breath escaped him in puffs of steam, "help..."

He fell face first into the snow, unable to move, unable to go any farther.

His last thoughts were on his parents, Midgar, SOLDIER, his mentor and finally the flower girl he had befriended before the darkness finally took him.


	2. Chapter 1: Cold Attitude Warm Tears

_Well, I'm not super happy with this chapter, but it's better than what it was. I had to go back and fix a few things with this one because it was bugging the heck outta me. I originally wanted the make the kid a little bit younger, but eh. It's staying as it is. _

_Enjoy!_

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The waking world came back to Zack slowly. He felt cold, but no longer frozen. He could feel his fingers and toes again and he was sore all over. Good, at least he wasn't going to lose any digits to frostbite. He opened his eyes slowly at first and then opened them wide enough to take in his surroundings. He couldn't feel the wind against him, even though he could still hear it howling somewhere nearby. There was the flickering glow of a fire nearby as well.

Slowly sitting up, Zack turned to see that his back was to the fire. He smiled as he let the warmth embrace him, holding his hands up to the dancing flames. He rubbed them together before looking down and noticing the ragged blanket that had been draped over him, which now had slid down to his lap. He blinked before looking at his surroundings.

He was in a cave. It was small, but it was big enough for the tiny campsite. The entrance to the cave had been packed closed with snow with only a small opening near the top for oxygen to pass through. The height of the hole kept the cold air from seeping into the cave floor, keeping it comfortable and snug. Looking around more, Zack noticed a sled, a cooking pot and a few other things that apparently belonged to his rescuer. Zack sighed with relief when he saw his sword lying on top of the sled.

"You're awake huh? Don't you SOLDIERs know anything about blizzards?"

The voice made Zack turn and look to the back of the cave. A small figure had emerged from the darkness with a small pale full of snow. The stranger was wearing a thick Nibel-wolf pelt coat and its thick hood covered the person's face. He carried the pale over and dumped the frozen slush into the pot and placed the pot over the fire. He then sat down on the opposite side of Zack and removed his hood.

Zack blinked in surprise. His rescuer was just a kid! A kid with striking blue eyes and spiky blonde hair that kinda reminded him of chocobo feathers. The very idea of it made him grin.

"What're you smirking at?" The kid seemed to be in a bad mood, or was he just plain grumpy. Zack couldn't tell, but at the moment he didn't care. He was out of the storm and with the fire warming him his carefree nature was quickly returning to him.

"I'm just happy. I thought I was a goner back there. Thanks for the save, kid."

The 'kid' only shrugged his shoulders with a huff and went back to what he was doing. "I just got tired of seeing people dying for stupid reasons."

"Stupid reasons?" Zack repeated.

The kid turned to face him, blue eyes blazing with cold fire. "Yeah, like walking in a snow storm with nothing to keep him warm or even worse, not having enough sense to stay out of the weather in the first place!"

Zack blinked at the ferocity of the kid's harsh attitude. "Sheesh, sorry kid. I didn't mean to piss you off."

The young blonde grunted before kneeling back down. Zack couldn't help but peek over the kid's shoulder. His curiosity getting the better of him. "What'cha doin'?"

"Getting food ready, or did you want to starve?"

Zack sat back down and stared at the kid. It felt like he was sharing the cave with a Nibel wolf. The kid was just as ferocious as one and he kept his claws sharp and his fangs bared at Zack as if he were an enemy.

"Are you always this friendly?" Zack asked flatly.

The boy's eyes met his, but the fierce fire seemed to be replaced with a small bit of sadness. "Nothing's friendly about this place. Not the wild, not the people, nothing."

Zack wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he sensed nothing but pain in the kid's tone, so he decided to lighten the mood. "Hey, you wanna see something neat?"

He got up and headed for the entrance to the cave. Being careful not to weaken the snow wall that the kid had set up he carved out three snow balls and turned to the kid only to wink at him before juggling them. The boy watched him with annoyance at first, but as the SOLDIER kept going the kid soon became impressed. Zack did a few tricks with the technique, tossing one ball higher than the others, tossing one or two under hand then over hand before ending with the big finish. He tossed the snow balls into the air one by one. He punched the first two, scattering bits of pulverized snow across the cave floor before slicing the last snow ball in half with his hand in a chopping motion.

The two halves landed on the floor and Zack took a bow.

"That was pretty cool," the kid admitted.

"Thanks," Zack replied with a smile as he sat back down in front of the fire.

"Where'd you learn to do that?"

Zack couldn't help but chuckle. He had the kid's attention and it was nice that the kid wasn't growling with the harshness of a monster anymore. "Just something I've been doing since I was a kid, though I used fruit instead of snow. We don't get any snow around Gongaga."

"What's that?" asked the kid.

"My hometown. I'm Zack by the way, what's your name?"

The kid shook his head then, making Zack tilted his head. "What's wrong? You have a name, right?"

"Of course I have one," he replied.

"Okay, so what is it? I don't bite."

The kid glared at him, "It's pointless to tell you my name. Once this storm breaks we'll go our separate ways and probably never see each other again."

Zack only chuckled. "What makes you say that? I may get lost in these mountains again and need someone to rescue me. How will I ask for your help if I don't know you're name?"

The kid blinked at him, it looked like he was about to say something but then he thought better of it and turned his back on Zack.

"Then there must be something wrong with you to. Figures I'd get stuck with a reject SOLDIER."

Zack chuckled again which angered the kid further.

"What's so funny?"

Zack rubbed his nose before replying, "For a reject I'm not doin' too badly to be a First Class."

At this the kid smirked. "If you're a First Class then frogs must've grown wings."

"Gaia I hope not, those things are bad enough without the gift of flight," Zack replied.

The kid placed one hand on his hip, "Stop goofing off and be serious. If you were a First Class then you'd be on the same level as Sephiroth and I doubt an idiot like you could match his skills."

"Well," Zack scratched the back of his head, "Seph's in a class all of his own really. There are two other First Class SOLDERs and even they have a hard time taking him on during a sparring session."

The blonde rolled his eyes. It was obvious this guy wasn't going to be serious with him. "Just eat your soup when it's ready and then get some sleep. You're out of here tomorrow."

Zack tried a few more times to get the kid's attention but he was ignored every time. It seemed like it was going to be a long night. Finally with a heavy sigh Zack gave up, ate his soup and laid down to sleep. He was only giving up for the night though, the kid had rescued him, got him to a warm place and given him food. That told Zack all he needed to know about the boy and he was determined to make him smile by the time the storm ended.

The next morning Zack woke to the sound of the howling winds still blowing strong outside. He also heard the kid grumbling from somewhere in the back of the cave. Zack realized he wasn't going anywhere until the storm let up. So he decided to try and make friends with the kid, since he had nothing else better to do.

"So, where are your folks?"

The question made the boy's head snap up from what he was doing. He had expected the man to ask him that last night, but when he didn't he felt relieved. Now the question had been brought up and he let out an annoyed sigh, not wanting to answer him. That didn't stop Zack from asking questions though.

"Are you lost?"

Silence.

"Did you run away?"

Silence.

"Did something bad happen?"

More silence.

Zack sighed, "C'mon kid, throw me a bone here."

"No. No. ...Yes."

"Huh?" Zack blinked a few times in confusion.

"The answers to your questions," the kid replied.

"I'm not lost, I didn't run away,..."

"But something bad did happen?" asked Zack.

The boy nodded.

"Feel like talking about it?"

"What do you care?"

Zack was surprised by the kid's cold nature, but he figured anyone would be a bit frozen dealing with weather like this constantly.

"Because I want to help. I'm a SOLDIER. It's what I do."

The boy turned away from the SOLDIER. A small part of him wanted to believe the guy. He was certainly friendly enough and seem to be honest, but he had lost so much recently he wasn't sure who to trust anymore. He didn't even want to trust himself at this point.

Finally he gave in and relented. "There's a small village on the other side of these mountains," he began.

Zack nodded, "I know, I-"

"-do you want the story or not?" snapped the kid.

Zack shut up.

"I lived there with my mom. We weren't liked by the town very well. They especially didn't like me very much after what happened at the bridge. The monsters were getting out of control and I was convinced it had something to do with the reactor. Mom agreed, but everyone else wouldn't believe me. The man in the house next to ours said he sent out a message requesting Shinra to come and deal with the rising monster problem."

He nodded when he saw Zack's eye brow raise in confusion.

"I know, they said they didn't believe me, but they just didn't want to admit that I was right. A week went by and Shinra didn't come. I was getting ready to leave for Midgar. I had made a promise to a friend to join SOLDIER and she'd read about me in the papers. She...she made me promise to come back one day and save her if she was ever in trouble."

"And what happened?" asked Zack. He didn't like the pain he was feeling from the kid which was coming off in waves.

"I had left that morning. I had all my gear, everything ready to go. I said goodbye to my mom, promising I'd write when I got settled and said bye to my friend the previous night. I had just gotten over the first hill when I heard a loud, angry roar. It was a pair of Nibel Dragons. They had descended from the mountains and attacked the village. The man in charge of the village was an idiot! He got tired of waiting and took matters into his own hands and sent some people to fight the monsters, but they killed the dragon's eggs. The parents came seeking revenge and destroyed the entire place."

The kid slammed his fist into the side of the cave.

"I ran back as fast as I could, but I wasn't fast enough."

Zack saw the kid's shoulders shaking and could tell he was trying to hold back his tears. He couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible. That was his mission. He was suppose to go to that village and help, but he was too late?"

"H-how long ago did this happen?"

"Three days ago," the kid replied.

Zack's heart sank. The mission had failed before it had even started. But now Zack had a new mission. This kid was from that village and that meant that it was his job to help him. No matter if he liked it or not.

Getting up, Zack placed a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder. "How old are you?"

"Twelve," the kid's shaky voice proved he was barely holding it together.

That was the final straw for Zack. He pulled the kid into a comforting hug. The blonde tried to protest and push away, but Zack refused to let go.

"It's not your fault," he told him. "There was nothing you could have done against a dragon, let alone two of them. That's something even a Second Class SOLDIER would have trouble with."

"I should have done something a week ago, I could've gotten there faster than the message did. I... I c-could've..."

"It's okay," Zack told him as he felt a warm tear land on his shirt. "It wasn't your fault, kid. you couldn't have known what was gonna happen. It's Shinra's fault for not sending anyone sooner."

The kid didn't say anything, only shaking his head.

"You're not alone anymore," Zack told him. "I'm gonna look after you. It'll be okay, I promise and when Zack Fair makes a promise, he keeps it."

Zack kept him in a hug until he was sure the boy had calmed down. When he did the kid went to work making their breakfast. He didn't say much after that, but it wasn't hard to tell there was a lot going through the kid's mind. Another night passed and the storm still hadn't let up. The two stayed nice and warm inside of the snow cave and Zack only ventured out to find some more firewood when they were running low. He returned with enough to last them through the night.

Zack had managed to cheer the kid up a bit by telling him different things about his own life. He even got him to laugh a few times when he bragged about how he had managed to prank the other First Class SOLDIERs. The kid had opened up quite a bit. He still hadn't given Zack his name, but Zack was confident he'd get him to spill it by the time the storm was over.

* * *

_Next Chapter: The Blizzard ends, final goodbyes and a name._


	3. Chapter 2: Shallow Hearts

_Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, favs and follows. It really means a lot considering this story was created just to help kick my writing muse back into gear. I never even really thought much about uploading it, but here it is and I'm glad I've decided to keep it going. :)_

_Please enjoy!_

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Three days after Zack had been rescued the storm had passed. The two had to dig their way out of the snow cave. Zack was first to emerge and quickly raised up a hand against the blinding sun that greeted him.

"Man, talk about a sight for sore eyes. Have you ever seen the sky so blue?...Kid?"

He turned to see the boy with his back to him, staring back into the darkness of the cave. they had packed up all of their things before digging their way to freedom. The cooking pot, sleeping bag, sled and other gear was strapped to his back, but it seemed something was on his mind.

"What's wrong?" asked Zack, who tilted his head.

"It's weird," the kid started. "When I first found this place I just thought of it as shelter from the cold, but it gave me protection and made me feel safe. And then I found you and you helped make it feel like home. It just...it feels weird walking away from it - like I'm saying goodbye to my home for a second time."

Zack smirked and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Who says we're gonna walk away from it? This is _our_ cave. We can come back here anytime we want."

the boy turned and looked at him. "R-really?"

"Sure! Here, watch this."

He walked over and unsheathed the sword that was strapped to his back. He took the sharp of the blade and carved something into the rock next to the cave's entrance. When he was done he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

_"The Sheltered Cave - founded and claimed by Zack Fair and Spiky."_

The boy looked at the message and arched an eye brow at Zack. "Spiky?"

"Well, you still won't tell me your real name so I'm gonna call you Spiky. Unless you changed your mind?"

The boy shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zack. He really didn't know why. It just felt like the only thing he had left to hold onto that would make the SOLDIER stick around. If he found out his name he wouldn't need to stick around anymore and would vanish like the spector the kid had first thought he was.

He had lost so much already that the fact of losing anything else terrified him, but he wasn't ready to admit that. Not to himself and certainly not to Zack.

"So, which way is Nibelheim?"

The boy turned his head to look at the dark-haired SOLDIER.

"Huh?"

Zack slung his sword against his back before letting out a sigh fo comfort, feeling much better with the sword resting in its natural place. "I know you probably don't want to go back so soon, but I need to survey the status of the town."

The boy glared at him. "Why? I told you what happened. The town was in ruins! That's all you need to know! Or...do you think I'm a liar?"

Zack blinked at him in surprise. "Whoa, kid, you're taking it the wrong way. It's not something I want to do. As a SOLDIER I have to suvey the damage. It goes into an offical report and there's tons of paperwork that follows."

"So what? The whole town gets written off and shoved into a file cabinet? Don't SOLDIERs care about anyone? It doesn't matter what happens to the destroyed lives as long as you meet your written quota?!"

"Kid, SOLDIER isn't like that, it's just...there's more to it than that."

"What, meetings? tea parties? Shinra has so much power, don't they care about the people who work for them? Or are we just pawns on a chess board!"

Zack could only stare at the kid as he unleashed his pain-filled rant. the pain on the kid's face, the unshed tears in his eyes...it nearly broke Zack's heart. He took a step towards the kid, but the blonde took a step back.

"Don't," he seethed, eyes burning with hatred.

He turned his back on the SOLDIER and pointed toward the far mountain. "Nibelheim is half a day's walk on foot."

Without another word the kid took off. Zack wanted to follow him, it drove him nuts to leave the kid on such bad terms, but it was clear the kid wanted nothing to do with him and the look in his eyes - Zack knew the kid felt betrayed. The First wanted nothing more than to run after the kid and explain how SOLDIERs really were, but he knew in his current mood the kid wouldn't listen.

Turning the other way, Zack forced himself to head towards his original mission: Nibelheim.

Several hours had passed and every step felt wrong to the SOLDIER. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to go after the kid. He wanted to, but the kid made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be anywhere near a SOLDIER. So with a heavy heart Zack kept moving forward. Finally he made it to the small town of Nibelheim...or, what was left of it.

Most of the buildings and houses were in ruins, including the mansion at the other end of town. All that was left was a twisted metal gate, a half-crumbled wall and a smoking, charred mess of smoke, broken glass and splintered wood.

He walked through the town and felt horrible at the damage. It was no wonder the kid didn't want to return.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet, Bandit? There is no easy prey for you here!"

Zack turned to see a man standing several feet behind him. There were others too, women and children, but not many. About nine in all. The three women shielded the two kids and the four men took on defensive stances, keeping themselves between Zack and the women. He had to respect their stubbornness. They were just like the kid. His thoughts were forced to the back of his mind when he saw two of the men gripping metal pipes nervously.

"Er, Hello. My name is Zack Fair. I'm a SOLDIER from Midgar. Shinra received your warning, but it looks like we were too late."

Boy was that an understatement, but what else could he say? Sorry the General didn't want to come himself? Sorry Shinra didn't consider a backwater town to be top priority? Sorry the 'too-late-to-do-anything' chopper crashed? Not the best way to earn the trust of the locals.

The man that seemed to be in charge of the small group lowered his makeshift weapon and took a step forward. "You're too late SOLDIER. The monsters were too much for us. We lost so many. Our town wasn't very big, but we're all that's left. Over thirty others are dead."

Zack's heart nearly plumetted. Thirty innocent lives lost? Zack wanted to cry. "I'm sorry," was all he could say.

"It's not you're fault,...not entirely," the man replied.

Then another man spoke up. "Yeah, it's that boy's fault. If he had warned us sooner then no one would have died. Including his own mother."

Zack looked up at the man then. Boy? they couldn't mean...

"If it wasn't for that Strife boy Mr. Lockhart and young Tifa, Mason and Jennifer, Jackie, Emily and even baby Dawn, none of them would have died."

Zack's fist clenched tightly. He felt for these people, he really did, but to put all of the blame on a kid who tried to warn them made his blood boil. Now he understood what the kid meant. "That's not how I heard it. He tried to warn you days before it was too late!"

The man shook his head. "Is that what he told you? Then that means he's nice and safe in a Shinra bed while his friends and family suffer and die. He doesn't care. I knew he was always bad news. He probably left town and never looked back."

Zack glared daggers at the man, but said nothing. He didn't trust his words at that point. He knew if he tried his temper would get the better of him and he'd say something that he'd regret later. Besides, there were women and children here and they didn't need to suffer anymore then they already had. So, as much as the guy deserved a broken nose, Zack ignored him, put on the blank face of a SOLDIER and went to work recording the level of damage. After that he traveled around the village, trying to track the dragons and determine if they still posed a threat.

He found what he was looking for when he saw two sets of large footprints heading away from the village. Zack found it rather strange that the dragons would waste their time walking when they could fly. They normally stayed air-born unless they were either carrying something or hunting. That last realization struck Zack with dread and he rushed off into the trees.

Ten minutes of running at full speed and Zack was starting to hope that he had been wrong. Maybe the dragons were just tired or just to overburdened with grief to fly? Didn't that blonde kid say that the people in town had killed their eggs? That would mean that this whole tragedy was an act of revenge. The dragons probably weren't even the original monsters causing trouble.

"Speaking of which..."

Zack stopped and looked around. It was strange that he hadn't run into any monsters yet. Wasn't the area supposed to be thriving with them?

A gunshot off to the west startled Zack and as he turned he heard the high-pitch scream of a monster in pain. He knew the sound all too well and knew that was the last sound the creature would ever make. Heading off into the direction the shriek had come from he stopped again when the stench of blood hit him. He had to cover his nose. It wasn't that he wasn't used to the smell of battle, but the smell over overwhelming.

A few more steps and he came upon a ridge. Climbing up, he soon discovered the reason why. Blood was _everywhere!_ Dripping from the trees, staining the rocks and the ground - even the boulder next to him was covered in blood. Monsters littered the ground everywhere he looked. Nibel Wolves were the only creatures he could recognize through the carnage, but there were a few other creatures too, they were just too damaged to determine their species.

A sixth sense forced Zack to look above him and he jumped to the side just as a bullet buried itself in the ground where he had been the second before. Zack looked up and saw what looked like a red cape flowing through the trees as if gliding on the wind. It gracefully landed and a person seemed to materialize out of the cloth.

The man wore a red head band that kept his messy, long black hair out of his face. One arm was encased with a shiny golden claw while the human-looking hand wielded a triple-barrel hand gun. His shoes...or boots were also gold and shiny, that wasn't the strangest thing about it and Zack couldn't help but snicker.

"What's so funny?" the man asked.

Zack busted out laughing, earning a glare from the man. "Sorry, but it's just...those shoes!"

"What about them?" It was the clear the man was clueless.

Zack shook his head. "They're so pointy, it's like you've got two lances strapped to your feet!" He doubled over and held his sides as a new wave of laughter erupted from his gut.

The man just stared at him as Zack started crying he was laughing so hard.

"You have a shallow heart."

Zack stopped laughing then, "'Scuse me?"

The man turned his back on him. "Someone who can laugh after so much despair must have a shallow heart. You aren't bothered by the suffering around you because it didn't happen to you. You either aren't smart enough to realize it or you just don't care."

Zack's good mood was gone in a flash and was replaced by anger. "Now wait a minute pal, just because I have a laugh every now and then doesn't mean that I'm insensitive." He thought back to all of the people that had died during the attack. Thirty in all, and those who remained. they were bitter and cold-hearted, but they were all that was left. The only life they knew was gone. It tore Zack's heart in two, but what else could he do to help them? He needed more man power to restore the town, but he was powerless until he got back to headquarters.

The man took a few steps into the trees and vanished. Zack hurried after him and was met with a strange sight. The trees opened up into a clearing where the rotting bodies of two dragons lay. The man stopped in front of one of the creatures' tail.

"These creatures attacked the town a few days ago. Their first target was the mansion. They burnt it to the ground. I was sleeping deep below, but I was woken from my slumber by the powerful cry of an unknown source. It was a strange feeling. A small voice. It wanted to help so badly, but it was powerless against these monsters. The plea for help was so strong I felt I had to act. I was too late to do much, but I managed to save a few of the townspeople. After that I sought out these creatures and killed them so they couldn't cause anymore pain. I looked for the source of the voice, but I couldn't find it."

Zack listened to the story. He didn't quite understand the part about sleeping deep under the mansion, but the guy was weird and a bit cold so Zack just paid attention to the details of the attack. It would go into his report later. _But that voice..._

"There was something else that I sensed about the voice. I sensed a great determination. It was stubborn and I felt a strong fire burning deep within the soul that was hotter than the dragon's fire. The spirit was broken, but it was as if the break was making it stronger. However..."

"However?" Zack couldn't help it. The guy could really pull you in.

"I also sensed a lot of pain and sadness. I don't know who it was that reached out to me, but they were afraid."

_**. . .**_

He didn't know where he was going. All Strife knew was that he wasn't going to join SOLDIER. After all, the person he had made the promise to was gone. He had failed her. He failed his mother and everyone else in the town. Not that he cared about them, but they were still people he knew - the only people he knew and now they were gone. Strife didn't know why he had been so mean to Zack. He hadn't intended to, but he just couldn't go back and see his worst fears confirmed. His home gone and nothing left. That fear gripped his heart and chilled him to the core more than any snowstorm ever could.

Strife kept going, not even aware of where he was. He had been so upset and so determined to get away from Zack that he had gotten himself lost. It was hard to get his bearings with everything covered in deep snow.

Without realizing it he stepped onto a frozen stream and slipped. He kept sliding and he ended up falling down a slanted waterfall that had frozen over. Strife tried to stop himself, but got his foot caught in between two rocks and it twisted his ankle until he heard it snap. He began tumbling until the slant became a sheer ten foot drop. He landed hard on the ice below.

His eyes opened slowly and he started shivering. His eyes were dazed and clouded and all he could see were his mother and the girl he had broken the promise to. They were gone and he was alone. He buried his face in his sleeve and cried.

* * *

_Next Chapter: New friends, new outlooks and an unbreakable friendship is born._


	4. Chapter 3: Destiny in the Works

_I wish I didn't have such a severe case of Writer's block. I have been trying to write updates for at least five other stories, but this is the only one that's been seeing any progress. I've got most of chapter 31 for Saving the Lost finished, but its still not ready. It's the closest to being ready followed by Present from the Past which is over half-way done. I know many are waiting for the next update for Strife: SG-1, and I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit longer for that. There's just a lot going on in my personal life and I think it's starting to affect my writing. Holiday stress - it's amazing what it can do to a person. _

_And don't worry Mrs. Strife, your son couldn't be safer now that Zack's taken him under his wing. ;)_

_I hope you all enjoy this latest update. :)_

* * *

He thought he could hear a voice. It sounded familiar, but he didn't dare to hope that anyone was looking for him. Who even knew he was out here anyway? Besides, what they were calling him wasn't his name.

"Kid! Hey, can you hear me?"

Zack was doing his best to follow the snow prints. After leaving Nibelheim behind, Zack mentally made plans to return to Midgar, but not without that kid. The boy's trail had been easy enough to follow until the wind started to kick up. Now the tracks were slowly being covered over and despite his better-than-average tracking skills he was having a hard time finding his way.

"Oh man, why'd I just let him go off on his own? If anything happens to that kid I'll never forgive myself," he said to himself as he cupped his hand to his mouth. "Kid! Are you out there?"

Strife slowly lifted his head as the voice drew nearer.

"Zack?"

Had he really come looking for him? He got his answer when he heard him calling out again. Strife tried to get up, but fell back down with a yelp of pain when he tried putting weight on his injured foot. The impact of his fall caused the ice to crack. He held his breath and kept still, praying that the frozen surface would hold. He let out a small breath of relief when it still held. He then heard Zack calling out again, but it was quieter this time. With a fresh wave of fear Strife realized that he was moving farther away.

"Zack! I'm over here!"

Nothing. Strife tried again and the voice was still growing distant. He tried to raise his voice but the ice began cracking more.

_**. . .**_

Over an hour had passed. Zack called and called until his voice was sore. The wind wasn't helping and it seemed to muffle his efforts. He also feared that he'd pass by the kid. with the wind blowing right at him it made hearing anything really difficult.

"This is the last time I take any snow-themed missions. Next time it'll be a tropical island paradise with hula girls, drinks with little umbrellas and someone in the background playing a ukulele!" He had just passed under a tree where it offered some defense against the wind.

"Spiky! Where are you? I'm sorry about before! Come on kid!"

The snow from a tree branch fell and landed right on top of him, coating his spiky black hair and stinging his eyes. When he opened them he had to rub them to make sure he wasn't seeing things. A wolf was standing a few feet in front of him. It was different from the normal Nibel Wolves and unlike the others it wasn't baring its fangs at him. It was just standing there.

"What? Never seen a guy get pelted with snow before?" asked the SOLDIER.

The wolf walked passed him and headed off in the direction Zack had just come from. Zack turned to watch it and blinked when the wolf stopped and turned its head back to him.

"You want me to follow you?"

The wolf turned then and headed off. Zack shrugged and followed it.

Zack was getting a bit irritated. The wolf had made him retrace his steps pretty far by the time he noticed the creature stop. The wolf was sniffing at a frozen stream. Zack only shook his head.

"Sorry Fido, the water's frozen over. You can't quench your thirst here."

The wolf kept sniffing and headed further downstream. Zack shook his head and followed.

"Look, it doesn't matter how far you go. It's too cold, you'll never find water around he-" Zack stopped when he saw a small branch where a patch of furry material was sticking to it. He took the material from the branch and looked at it more closely. It was just like the coat that the kid had.

"Wait, you've been leading me to Spiky?!"

But as he turned to look around the wolf was no where to be seen. Zack followed the stream that was now going down a slanted path.

"Spiky! Spiky, where are you?"

He had to stop himself when he almost fell from a steep drop. It was then that he looked down and saw him. The kid was lying face down right in the middle of the frozen pond. What scared Zack most was that the kid wasn't moving.

_**. . .**_

"Spiky!"

He opened his eyes slowly. He was so cold and his foot hurt too much to move. But he thought he had heard a voice.

"Spiky, can you hear me?"

The kid looked up then, realizing that he wasn't hearing things. "Zack?"

He looked over the top of the frozen waterfall that he had fallen from and saw him standing there. His spirits soared when he realized that Zack had come back for him.

"Zack!" He shouted as he jolted up, but that's when the ice gave way and he fell into the frigid water.

He tried to fight his way back to the surface, but his thick coat and the rest of his supplies was weighing him down and with his injured foot he couldn't kick his way back up. His strength gave out and as the precious bubbles of air escaped his mouth a strong hand grabbed his arm and started pulling him up. He felt the weight of his supplies vanish and within seconds his head broke the surface and he was choking up water.

Zack shoved him out of the water before hauling himself up. The kid was shaking like a leaf and Zack did the only thing he could. He pulled off the kid's clothes which were soaking wet and doing far more harm than good. Next he ran over towards where he had thrown off his sword in order to dive in. In his haste, the top of his SOLDIER First uniform had gotten caught on the blade's strap and been pulled off with it. Now he was grateful for it as he took the sweater-like vest and wrapped it around the kid.

"Z-z-z-Za-ck?" he asked through chattering teeth.

"I'm here kid. You're gonna be okay."

"I'm s-s-sorry ab-bout bef-f-fore."

"Don't worry about that right now, focus on staying warm." Zack looked around for anything else he could use to warm the kid up. He was freezing as well, but with mako coursing through his system he knew he'd be fine. the kid was a completely different story.

He didn't want to move the kid, but they couldn't stay here. It was hard to tell how much time had passed through the thick clouds, but Zack guessed that it wouldn't be long until sundown. Strapping the sword to his back, Zack then made sure the sweater was wrapped firmly around the kid as he picked him up and carried him in his arms. Zack hated that the kid felt cold as ice and his blonde spikes were starting to freeze.

"Hey, you gotta stay with me kid. Don't you dare go where I can't follow. Screw it, I'd still go and drag you back. It can't be any different than plunging into ice water and freezing my ass off, right?"

The boy fought to keep his eyes open, but he couldn't help but offer a small smile. "I-I'll s-s-stay p-put," he replied quietly.

Hearing this, Zack smiled.

"Good. Now you just stick close to me and I'll have us sitting on a nice beach, drinking tropical punch in no time."

Strife nodded and curled tighter against Zack's chest, trying to keep warm. It wasn't long until he slipped into the quiet darkness of the realm of unconsciousness.

_**. . .**_

When the world came back to him, the first thing Strife noticed was that he was no longer freezing. In fact, he was warm and very comfortable. He pulled the blanket closer to him and breathed into the soft fabric. Slowly he opened his eyes and realized that he was lying in a bed with a cooking fire burning in a stove nearby. The small door had been left open to heat the room. Looking around it looked like he was in a cave, but it felt different from the one he and Zack had taken shelter in,..._ZACK!_

The boy sat up quickly and was about to throw off the blanket when a voice greeted him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

Strife looked around, seeing no one except for the large creature lying in the corner. It was red with a small fire burning at the tip of its tail. The creature resembled a cross between a wolf and a lion. Strife wasn't sure which he resembled more. The creature sat up then and scratched behind his ear with a hind paw before shaking his head and offered what appeared to be a smile.

"Good morning young one, My grandfather said you would be waking up sometime today."

"Wh-who are you? And where am I?"

A purr rumbled in the creature's chest in what Strife guessed was laughter.

"There's no need to be alarmed. You're quite safe here. This is Cosmo Canyon and I am Nanaki. My grandfather is the headman of the village and is currently showing your friend around."

"My friend? You mean Zack's okay?"

Nanaki nodded, "Overly energetic is the term that would describe him better at the moment," Nanaki replied. "I'd take you to him, but your foot needs to heal more. It's a pretty bad sprain."

Strife looked down at his foot which was now wrapped in bandages. His clothes were on a table next to him, all folded and they looked like they had been recently cleaned.

Nanaki stood up and stretched before heading for the door, "I imagine you'd like some privacy in order to get dressed. I'll inform my grandfather and your friend that you're awake, Spiky."

Strife blinked, "Thanks, but my name isn't Spiky. It's Cl-"

"All this time, I can't believe it! the planet really _is _an amazing place!"

Nanaki opened the door with his muzzle just in time for Zack to come bouncing by. He seemed both excited and angry at the same time which was an odd sight to see. His anger vanished the moment he saw his friend sitting up in bed.

"Spiky! You're awake!"

Strife smiled at him, "Thanks to you, I am."

Zack merely shrugged his heroism off. "Pfft, n'ah it wasn't just me. Furball over there deserves half the credit."

"All I did was keep the boy warm and offer shelter," Nanaki humbly replied.

Strife nodded to the cat as he made his leave, "Thanks Nanaki."

The cat nodded back and headed off to find his grandfather. Zack walked over to a chair and sat down before running his hands through his hair. "Man, I have got a lot of re-thinking to do."

"That could be dangerous," Strife joked.

Zack shot him an amused glare before huffing in mock offense. "So's running off into the mountains on your own."

Strife closed his eyes in defeat, but couldn't mask his smile. "Okay fine. I was stupid and made a mistake, but what do you expect from a country bumpkin?"

Zack snorted before unleashing his laughter. "And you think Gongaga is any better? A bit warmer maybe, but that's it. Trust me Spiky, I've made my fair share of mistakes, but that doesn't make me a country bumpkin, so that excuse won't work on me."

Strife looked down at his hands which were resting on top of the blanket.

"I never did tell you my real name."

"The villagers called you Strife," Zack replied.

The boy looked up at him then, "There were survivors? How many?"

Zack felt his good mood vanish. He didn't want to put the kid in a bad mood, but he wanted to be honest with him. "Nine."

"Just...just nine?"

Zack nodded. "Four men, two kids and three women." His gaze focused on a rock sticking out of the wall. "They weren't very nice people either. I wanted to punch that one guy's light's out. He was so eager to throw the blame at someone else for what happened."

"Sounds like Cassidy. That guy was always looking for a way to point the blame at me for something." Strife replied. "His younger brother was one of the ones that always bullied me a lot. One day I got tired of him and gave him a bloody nose. He went crying to Cassidy and the next day he was telling the mayor and everyone else that I was seen stealing from people's houses."

Zack's jaw dropped open at hearing that. "Well shit! I really should have punched him out then,"

Strife shook his head. "Wouldn't have done any good. He's the type that never learns."

Zack sat back and folded his arms, "Okay, so you don't like me callin' you Spiky and I don't like Strife because it doesn't really suite you, what should I call you?"

The kid smiled at him then,

"Cloud."

"No seriously, what's your name?"

"Cloud."

"I like Spiky better. I mean, what kinda name is Cloud?"

"What kind of name is Zack Fair?"

Zack sighed, "Fair enough."

The two blinked at the hidden joke and erupted into laughter.

Just outside of the door and out of Zack's SOLDIER hearing range Nanaki and his grandfather had been listening in within a secret room.

"Cloud Strife and Zack Fair. The planet has been waiting for these two for quite some time."

Nanaki looked up at the old man, "What does the future hold?"

"Nothing is for certain, Nanaki, but I do know this. Those two will bring about great changes. Both for the planet and each other."

* * *

_Next Chapter: Home Sweet Home, Stowaway, The General._


	5. Chapter 4: Bonfire Blues

_I probably should have stated this at the beginning, but eh, better late than never, right? I do not, nor will I ever own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. that honor belongs to Square Enix._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Cloud and Zack spent the next week in Cosmo Canyon while waiting for the kid's foot to heal. Cloud felt bad that Zack had to carry him around, but the SOLDIER always brushed it off and said it didn't bother him. They learned a lot about the planet and how it's fragile balance was important to protect. They listened to the stories, told by both Nanaki and his grandfather and Zack was really impressed by the old man's machine. Cloud was impressed too and wondered how it was able to project the space surrounding their planet and even showed them what the lifestream looked like. Cloud secretly wondered if his mother was resting peacefuly within the ribbon-like current. Zack had seen his friend's expression and went into action to lift his mood.

"Look Spiky, I'm gonna eat the moon!"

He took a few steps towards the hologram of the moon and opened his mouth wide enough before taking a step and chomping down.

"Mmmm, hey, it really _does_ taste like cheese!"

From that moment on, whenever Zack saw Cloud with a sad face he did something completely random and the result was always the same. The SOLDIER was always rewarded with a laugh or a smile. The two had become good friends with Nanaki as well. They spent their last night in Cosmo Canyon sitting around the large bonfire that was burning in the center of the village. Zack was roasting marshmallows while Cloud was listening to one of Nanaki's stories.

"And that was how the three friends became enemies and in the end lost everything they once held dear," the cat finished.

"What a tragic story, and you said this story replays itself with every generation?" asked Cloud.

Nanaki nodded his head, "Sadly, yes. I've seen and heard of many friends who have become enemies."

Cloud blinked a few times before glancing over at Zack. The SOLDIER in turn caught on to what his little pal was thinking.

"Oh please, don't believe everything you hear, Spiky. Not all friends become enemies and besides, _LOVELESS _is nothing but a play. Genesis keeps a copy on him at all times and quotes it often. It's like that one story, Romeo and Juliet. In the end both lovers died and it was only then that their families realized their mistakes and made up."

Nanaki smirked, "I didn't take you for a fan of literature, Zack."

"I'm not, but Angeal pretty much beat those stories into me when I was a Third and it's forever burned into my memory."

Cloud sighed and held a faraway look into the flames, "Still, the fact that they were once so close and it didn't take much to turn them against each other. I've never really had a friend until now but I hope nothing like that happens."

Zack clapped a hand on Cloud's shoulder which startled him. "It won't. I swear on my honor as a SOLDIER. Now, have a marshmallow."

He pulled off the gooey snack and tossed it to his friend who was forced to juggle it before it hit the ground.

Nanaki wrapped his tail around his paws as he sat up, "I wish you didn't have to go tomorrow. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Zack nodded, "Thanks, but I really need to head back to Midgar. I wouldn't be surprised if Angeal has every SOLDIER and Turk out looking for me by now."

"Turk?...what's that?" asked Cloud.

Zack cast his friend a side-ways glance, "You've heard of secret agents, right?...Spy stuff?"

Cloud nodded.

Zack leaned back with his hands, bracing the ground behind him, "That's the Turks."

Nanaki rested his gaze on Cloud, "So I take it you'll be leaving with your friend?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because your foot hasn't quite healed well enough yet."

Zack nodded, "He's right, maybe you should stay here Spike."

Cloud's head snapped in the direction of his friend. "What?!"

The SOLDIER snickered, "I'm only teasing. Of course you're coming with me. I can't let you go wandering off again. Who else will save you from freezing water and your own stubbornness?"

"Very funny," Cloud pouted before folding his arms and turning away. "You big jerk."

Zack tilted his head, "Ohh~, is that how it's gonna be?"

He got up slowly before pouncing on the young kid. Nanaki just watched as the two wrestled and rough-housed. Zack had an unfair advantage with his strength; an advantage he was making full use of, much to the young blonde's protests.

"Agh, no fair using SOLDIER strength!"

"What can I say? I don't know my own strength!"

"This is child abuse!"

"Are you kidding? This is how brothers bond!"

"I don't have any brothers!"

"Well, you do now, so quit whining and fight back! OW! No biting!...Gotcha!"

Zack had managed to lock Cloud in a bear hug. The boy's arms were pinned in front of him, against Zack's chest and the SOLDIER was holding the kid off the ground with a grin.

"I win," he replied smugly.

"Nanaki, a little help here?" asked Cloud.

The cat was simply watching the whole event with amusement clear on his features. "If you can't over-power your opponent, try lowering his guard. If that doesn't work then Imobalize him."

Zack chuckled, "And how's he gonna do that? I've got him pinned!"

That's when Cloud got an idea.

Suddenly Zack was laughing and started to loose his grip. "Hahaha! Hey, no fair tickling!"

It was the only thing the blonde could do and in less than a minute he was able to break away from the SOLDIER - able to, but instead he chose to keep at it and soon Zack was lying on his back. He tried to roll away, but the kid's assault was relentless.

"Say uncle!" Cloud challenged.

"No way!" Zack replied through his laughter.

"Say it!"

"I believe the boy's got you beat. You can't reclaim the upper hand without any strength. A very effective tactic I must admit," added Nanaki who was enjoying this immensely.

The attack went on for about two more minutes before Zack's stubbornness finally gave in and he threw in the towel, "Okay, okay! Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!"

Cloud stopped and the SOLDIER was left to catch his breath. He then laid down next to his friend, also a bit out of breath.

Zack smiled as he gave one last chuckle, "You're a tough little squirt."

Cloud snubbed his nose as he replied, "Of course I'm tough. I'm from Nibelh-..."

Zack slowly sat up and looked down at the kid. Ever since he had first woken up at Cosmo Canyon he had been having nightmares about what had happened. It was hard to see the kid so depressed. Cloud no longer had a home and his only family was gone.

"Hey, you know what you're right. You gotta be tough to live in a town like Nibelhiem. Maybe that's why you beat me. Gongaga is a great place to live, but with the warm climate and the easy-going aura surrounding the place you tend to get soft in the easy-going life style if you're not careful. I must be outta practice."

Cloud nodded, his previous good humor gone.

"Yeah."

Zack didn't like that tone one bit. He directed his gaze at the bonfire and sighed. "You know, Midgar isn't anything like what you're used to. It's big, really big. It's so big that they divided it up into different sectors and each sector is like its own little city. It's also split into two levels. The upper plate, where Shinra HQ and most of the shops and theaters and hotels are and then there's the slums. It's pretty dirty down there and full of junk and monsters. People live there too, but their not as nice, at least none that I've met."

"What's your point?" asked Cloud.

"My point is that if you really wanted to stay here you could. Nanaki seems to like you. I just don't want to put you in a situation where you'd be uncomfortable."

Cloud gave him a look. The same look that he had given him when Zack asked which direction Nibelhiem was in. Zack saw it as a look of betrayal or abandonment...maybe both.

"But, I'd be with you." Something sparked in the kid's eyes as if he had realized something and he rose to his feet, putting his full weight on his injured foot and walked over to stand between Zack and the fire. "And besides, you promised you'd never leave me behind again. Remember? I'm going with you and that's that. Even if you leave me behind I'll still follow you. you can't get rid of me that easily, SOLDIER."

Zack blinked at the kid. The fire burning behind the boy made him seem like a completely different person. It was probably his eyes playing tricks on him, but what he saw could have well been a vision of the future. the flames made Cloud appear older, more like his age. Instead of a black T-shirt and baggy dark pants he saw what looked like a SOLDIER uniform, complete with shoulder guards, a dark sleeve covering one of his arms and what looked like a strap for a sword to cling to his back much like Zack's own weapon. What amazed him most was the light glow in Cloud's eyes. If Zack didn't know better he would swear he was looking at another SOLDIER.

"Zack?" asked Cloud, noticing the odd look he was giving him.

Zack shook his head to clear it and when he looked back at his friend he saw the kid normally again. "That...was weird."

"What was?"

Zack brought a hand up to his forehead as if he was suffering from a headache. "I'm not sure."

"It seems the planet is sending you a message."

The three looked up to see Bugenhagen approaching.

"What kind of message? did you see it too?" asked Zack.

The old man shook his head. "No, but I can tell the signs clear enough. I wager whatever it is you saw has to deal with your current dilema."

"You mean Cloud?"

"Is that what you saw? Think carefully now."

Zack blinked and looked down at the sand in front of him. Cloud had appeared older and looked stronger, but the giveaway were the eyes. They had the trademark mako glow of a SOLDEIR. There was no mistaking that. He looked over at Cloud then who didn't really have an idea what was going in, but he seemed a bit nervous. It was then that Zack knew what he had to do.

"Alright Spike, you win."

_**. . .**_

It had been over a week since Zack had left and what should have been a two-day mission had obviously gone horribly wrong. Why hadn't he tried to report in? what could have happened? These were questions that Angeal Hewely was forced to deal with. He sat at his desk, trying his best to do his paperwork, but it was useless. As much as the puppy could be a hassle he'd give almost anything to have Zack come bursting into his office with some small random bit of information that was utterly useless. Most of the time it was funny stories from the Midgar Tribune, or good deals at some of his favorite stores. Sometimes Angeal felt more like the teen's father than his mentor. This was one of those times.

The door opened up and Angeal could tell who it was by the sounds of the footsteps. It seemed everyone on the upper floors had their own specific strut. Sephiroth was no exception.

"Any word Sephiroth?"

The general stopped and blinked at the man sitting at his desk. It impressed him that one of his second in commands was so well aware of his surroundings while multitasking several other things. "Not good news." He replied as he tossed a manila file onto the desk.

Angeal took it and looked through the file. He then laid it down and rubbed his temples. "How many were recovered?"

"By the time the team arrived the bodies had already joined the lifestream. There may well have been so survivors."

"And the mission? Was the second team able to complete it?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "They were too late. According to one of the survivors even the first team wouldn't have made it in time."

Angeal shook his head. This day was just getting worse and worse.

"There is a bit of good news."

Angeal looked up at the general. "Go on."

"It seems that Zack found his way to the town and then wandered back into the mountains. The villagers haven't seen him since."

Angeal sighed with relief. Zack was alive. "How long ago was he there?"

"Three or four days according to witnesses."

That long? It never usualy took Zack four days to return. He had been stranded before and managed to at least call. Suddenly he felt his worry for his pupil growing again. Zack was from a small town in the south. If not for the mako there'd be no way he could survive in those sub-zero temperatures.

"Thank you, Sephiroth," Angeal said as the general turned to leave.

He stopped at the door, but didn't turn back around. "The puppy may be the class clown of Shinra, but he can be surprisingly resourceful when he has to be. Try not to be too hard on him when he returns."

With that he headed out of the office and down the hall towards the elevator.

* * *

_Next Chapter: The return journey begins, explanations, meeting a monster._


	6. Chapter 5: Motion Sickness

_Hello again. I'm glad everyone enjoying this so far. Especially considering it didn't have a decent plot at first. Which has changed I'm happy to say. Still having trouble finishing up some other updates and I'm really really sorry about that. Especially since you guys have been so patient and awesome about it. I did want to clear one thing up that I was unsure if I had written out well enough in the last chapter. _

_When Zack saw Cloud in the firelight with a mako glow in his eyes, that was just an illusion created by the fire, yet it was also a vision that the planet was showing Zack. Cloud doesn't have mako yet. ;)_

_Hope everyone enjoys this update and don't worry, if you like seeing the rest of the FF7 crew making their own intros you'll love how the others make their intros into the story. ^_^_

* * *

The elevator was half-way down when the doors opened up and and a red-head entered. Sephiroth stepped to the side to allow the man room to reach over and press the floor of his destination. He arched an eye brow when the man reached for the laboratory floor. Normally this man was seen in the snack lounge or on the Turk floor. The General let the thought fade. It was none of his concern.

Reno had been dead on his feet for the past few hours and his forth cup of coffee was proving to have no effect on him. Then again he had been up for almost forty-eight hours straight and caffeine could only do so much. Because of this it took him a minute to register that he not only didn't have the elevator to himself, but he was sharing it with the General.

"Yo," he said while trying to fight back a yawn.

If he was trying to conceal his exhaustion he was doing a poor job of it. Sephiroth could clearly see the bags under his eyes.

"Reno," he greeted. "It's unusual for you to be working this late."

Reno smirked at this, even if the General didn't know you on a personal level he sure as heck could tell when something about you seemed off.

"You heard about what happened in Nibelheim, right?"

Sephiroth nodded in response, "One of our own is missing in the location."

"Yeah," the turk nodded. "I heard about Zack. I guess there was more in that small town than we first thought. That mansion was one of Hojo's little retreats."

At this Sephiroth cast a sideways glance at the turk. A small gesture, but to the turk it showed that he had captured the General's interest.

"Another secret lab?"

Reno nodded, "I'm on my way to give him the good news now."

"What news is that?"

Reno let his shoulders sag slightly. "That the mansion was a total loss. Rude was at the sight and reported nothing was salvageable."

A small smirk appeared on the General's features. "Perhaps I should accompany you, no doubt you'll need some protection from the Professor's wrath."

Reno cocked his head to the side as if weighing his options. "I think I'll accept your offer. I don't think I have enough stamina to deal with a raving Hojo on my own. Tsung's been workin' me pretty hard lately."

"Slacking off again, were you?"

Reno blinked a bit as he looked at the General. Since when was Sephiroth this chatty? With a shrug he merely suppressed another yawn. "Not really, just the normal routine."

"I see."

The bell dinged and the doors slid opened as the two made their way out. Sephiroth wrinkled his nose slightly in disgust at the smell that greeted him. the scent of Mako hung thick in the air. He was well used to it by now, but it was that first whiff that always got him. It was gone as quick as it came, but it never failed to put a damper on his mood and remind him of the person he was about to see. Sephiroth led the way as the two headed down the hall and towards Hojo's office which is where he could usually be found unless he was working on one of his experiments.

Hojo was writing notes and reading over several files when the two entered. He didn't even look up to acknowledge them as he continued scribbling down cryptic equations and side notes. Reno cleared his throat, but it seemed to have no effect.

"Professor Hojo," Reno tried again.

"If you lack the ability to be patient then you have no business requesting an audience with me. Wait like an adult or throw a tantrum and leave like a child."

Sephiroth could easily sense Reno bristling next to him, but the Turk kept quiet. Very few people could tolerate Hojo and his 'I am smarter and far more superior than anyone' attitude. Sephiroth could only stand him for long, but he had a higher tolerance than most, though, not by choice.

Finally after what seemed like twenty minutes (and probably was) the professor set his pen down and looked up at his guests.

"Ah, Sephiroth. The only person in this infernal company worth conversing with, what brings you here?"

Sephiroth glanced to his side as Reno took a step forward and placed a file on Hojo's desk. The scientist just looked up at Reno as if he were a child who just handed him his report card.

"You should probably have a look at that," Reno told him.

Hojo glared at him as if he were an annoying fly buzzing around his office before picking up the file and scanning over it. The two watched as his bored expression began transforming into one of surprise, and then anger. Finally he threw the file down as he shot up from his chair.

"I want to know who is responsible for this so I can personally hold them accountable!"

Sephiroth shook his head, "No one. It was an outbreak of monsters that had overtaken the area. The town was destroyed."

"I don't care about the town! Do they know how much this loss costs me?! Decades worth of research and experiments gone up in flames?!" He turned to Sephiroth then, "What about the reactor?"

"As far as I am aware there is no damage reported there."

Hojo stopped his ranting and appeared to calm down. Only his hands were still shaking with anger. "I want extra security placed there at all times."

Sephiroth nodded and Hojo turned his back on them. "Leave me, I need time to think."

"I'm not finished," Reno started.

"I said get out!" Hojo snapped and Sephiroth gave the turk a look that told him not to argue. As the two stepped back into the elevator Reno went into full rant about what a jerk Hojo was, but Sephiroth ignored it for the most part. He was more concerned with Hojo's behavior. Just what was in that mansion and more importantly, what was in the reactor that would make Hojo want to increase security? Hearing that it been safe seemed to reassure him which considering he had just lost so much meant that whatever was in the reactor was more important than Hojo was letting on.

_**. . .**_

The sound of a ferry whistle rang clear in the air as the charter skimmed over the waves of the ocean. Sea birds called as they glided on the warm ocean breeze overhead. Zack smiled up at the clear blue sky as he took a bite from his plate. It felt so good to be somewhere far away from those mountains. Not a single snow flake in sight. Even though he was heading back to Midgar, this felt more like a vacation than anything. At least now that his life wasn't in any danger. His good mood faltered a bit when he looked over at his friend.

Cloud had found out not long after the ferry had set out that he was prone to sea sickness. The waves were calm enough, but the constant rocking back and forth even slightly was enough to do him in and he was currently leaning over the rail, trying to keep his breakfast down.

"Poor Kid," Zack mumbled to himself as he took a sip of his iced tea. He would have to remember to make sure he carried motion sickness medicine whenever they traveled from now on.

After another fifteen minutes Cloud moved away from the rail and took a seat at the table.

"Feel better?" asked Zack.

"Once we get off this boat I will."

"Ferry."

"Whatever."

Cloud folded his arms on the table and buried his head. The darkness was a welcome relief from the bright sunshine and the view of the summer salad that Zack was enjoying.

"Is this your first time on a boat?" asked Zack.

"Yes," came the muffled reply.

"Well, the nausea shouldn't last forever. Normally it goes away after a day or two. Why don't you try drinking some water?"

The blonde didn't need any second bidding. He took the glass that was next to his hand and gulped it down before Zack got his attention.

"Don't chug it down, you'll only make your self sick again. Small Sips, that's the key," he added with a wink.

Cloud slowed down and followed his friend's advice. It did help, but he suddenly felt a different kind of sickness. One he was sort of surprised to be suffering. "Do you think Nibelheim can get back on its feet?"

Zack leaned back in his chair, "Don't know."

He saw the depressed expression the boy had and smirked. "But, if the survivors are half as stubborn as you are they'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about it. Especially with that guy hanging around. I don't think they'll have any monsters to worry about for a while."

"What guy?" asked Cloud.

"He must've been a hunter or some kind of skilled fighter," Zack replied. "He had a pretty cool lookin' triple barrel gun, a golden claw on his left hand that would put a dragon's claw to shame and he had this really spooky red cloak. It's like it had a life of its own. He'd look like a total badass if not for those funny boots. They were pointed, like really pointed, kinda like something a clown would wear."

"Sounds like the Red Ghost of the Mansion."

"Huh, odd. That's where that guy said he came from."

Cloud shook his head. "It's been abandoned as far back as anyone could remember. Sometimes you'd hear the monsters that dwell within which was more than enough to keep people away."

"So, you're saying that guy was the ghost?" Zack blinked in surprise.

Cloud only shook his head. "Ghosts don't exist, he was probably pulling your leg. Most likely he was just some bounty hunter looking to hunt a bunch of monsters for the gil."

The next two days went by quickly. Cloud was so happy when they finally got back on dry land. He was currently waiting with their stuff while Zack was making a few phone calls. When Zack did return he looked delfated.

"What's wrong?" asked Cloud.

"Huh?" Zack looked up and shook his head. "Nothin' for you to worry about. Angeal just chewed me up and spit me out for making him worry like I did. I also found a way to cut our travel time in half."

"What do you mean?"

"I hired a guy to fly us most of the way home."

Cloud wasn't sure that was such a good idea, but he didn't look forward to traveling a long distance either, so he decided to keep his thoughts to himself as he followed Zack away from the port and towards the airfield and it was when they were almost at the front gate that he wondered why he was still lugging the heavy bag around. His foot was still healing and this heavy suit case wasn't helping.

"Why'd you get that thing anyway?" he asked as they sat in the waiting room. The pilot that would be taking them hadn't arrived yet.

"Well, it's big enough to carry all of our stuff for one," he replied.

"I'll say. It's so big I could fit inside," Cloud replied.

At this Zack chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"You'll see," was all he said.

Their pilot arrived about thirty minutes later and apologized for the hold up, though it was hard to translate it through his fowl mouth that was loaded with every swear word in the dictionary. Out of all the gibberish Zack was able to deduce that the man's name was Cid Highwind and that he was the best pilot from here to Wutai. How that true that was still to be seen, considering his plane was a small aircraft and the name 'Little Bronco' was painted on the side of the red plane.

When they got ready to leave Zack put the suitcase in the compartment with a few sacks of what looked like bird feed.

"Hey Pops, what with all the bird food?"

"That's my other delivery and where you boys get off. I'm headin' for the Chocobo ranch that's to the South East of Kalm. It's a little farther than Midgar, but it'll save you a lot more time trekkin' from there than here."

"True enough," Zack replied as he closed the hatch.

Cloud peered into the one of the seats. "Um, there isn't enough to fit all three of us, is there?"

Cid bit onto his cigarette as he smirked at the kid. "What, yer small enough to share with yer pal ain't'cha?"

"I'm not small," Cloud retorted with a slight pout.

Seeing the kid's reaction Cid's smirk only grew, "A'corse we could always pack ya with the bird feed, but bein' the little chocobo that you are, ya might eat it all, haha!"

Cloud's pout only grew and before Zack could step in the kid kicked the pilot in the shin. Cid doubled over and held his leg while hissing a boat-load of curses under his breath.

"_Spiky~_,"

"He had it coming," the blonde replied.

Once everyone had calmed down and settled Cid made sure the other two were buckled up before taking off. Much to Cloud's protests he was small enough to sit comfortably in the same seat with Zack who didn't seem to mind. That is until they were in the air and he realized he forgot to buy motion sickness medicine for Cloud who had grown pale and his face had taken on a slight green tint.

* * *

_Next Time: Chocobo lessons, Saving a Thief, and Cloud's first encounter with a Zolom!_


	7. Chapter 6: Bird Taming

_Hello everyone. I apologize that's it's been almost 6 months since my last update. Yikes. But I'm happy to say that this story hasn't lost it's plot nor have it been plagued by writer's block. (knock on wood) x3_

_I don't know why this chapter took forever to write. I know w.b. had nothing to do with it. But that's water under the bridge. It's finished now, so I hope you enjoy. ^_^_

* * *

It had been forty minutes into the flight when Zack dozed off and Cloud was left to his own thoughts. He still felt queezy, but it wasn't as bad as his trip on the ferry. At least he managed to keep the contents of his stomach where it belonged. He looked down at the landscape below. It was an interesting mountain range and the greenery that followed. But then he saw something strange. The greenery gave way to a desolate wasteland. Everything was brown and Cloud couldn't spot any kind of plant life. Cid noticed the kid looking around through his rear-view mirror.

"Pretty sad sight, ain't it?"

"Are we flying over a desert?" he asked.

"Might as well be," Cid replied. "That's the wastelands surrounding Midgar. Nothing will grow down there and you can thank the reactors for that."

"But, there was a reactor near my hometown and it didn't do anything like that."

"That's because your town probably only has one reactor. Midgar has eight of 'em."

"_Eight_?!"

Cid smirked at the kid's reaction. "Yeah, I know. They went a bit overboard. The people livin' in Midgar have life easy and the planet's left to suffer for it. it ain't right stealing all that energy from the planet, but there's not much anyone can do about it. Not when Shinra has SOLDIER to back them up."

"Uh," Cloud cast a glance over at Zack, but it seemed like he was still asleep.

"I know, I should probably keep my mouth shut around your SOLDIER friend, but I can't get arrested for speaking the truth. It's not like I can do anything it about it."

Cloud nodded slowly in agreement.

"I just do what I can to make life a little easier for those who deserve it, or if they pay good enough."

Cloud nodded again and looked back towards the dusty landscape below. Off in the distance he could see a large city, but it was hard to make out through the smog-filled clouds that surrounded it. A short while later the wastelands gave way to open grassy fields. Cloud looked on the other side of his friend and saw light shimmering farther to the south.

"Is that the ocean?"

Cid cast a glance over in the direction the boy was looking. "N'aw, that's the marshes."

"I've never seen a place like that before," Cloud added.

Cid turned his head and looked at the cockpit's controls for a minute before deciding to be nice. The plane tilted slightly as he turned and headed for a quick fly-by of the marshes.

Cloud smiled as he looked down at the landscape below. The ground was covered with water and all manner of plants decorated the area, small trees, bushes and fronds.

"It's so...pretty." Normally not how a boy would describe a marsh, but he couldn't help it. There really was no other way to put it.

Cid only shook his head, "Pretty? Maybe from where we are, but you wouldn't think so if you was on foot. Not with Zoloms infesting it."

Cloud blinked as he looked over his shoulder at the pilot. "What's a Zolom?"

"Let's hope you never find out, kid."

With that said, Cid decided the detour was over and turned to head back on course. Cloud gave the marshes one last glance and focused more closely when he thought he saw a large dark shadow swimming under the water.

About fifteen minutes later the Little Bronco landed safely outside the Chocobo ranch. A few of the birds that were kept in the fenced in area outside squawked in surprise and started running about in an attempt to get away from the large red creature that had startled them. Cloud was just glad the ride was over. His stomach was starting to get the better of him. He was the first to jump out as Zack stretched and let out a big yawn.

"We're there already?" Once he climbed out he couldn't help but do a few squats.

Cloud opened the hatch to retrieve their stuff when he was smacked hard in the back and almost sent crashing into the plane's cargo hold. He turned to glare at whoever shoved him, assuming it was Cid, but instead he came face to face with the Ranch's owner and he looked mad.

"What 'da heck's wrong wit'cha? You never fly a plane close to a bunch'a chocobo's! Ya wanna scare 'em half ta death? What kinda moron are ya?"

Cloud glared at the man, "I'm not the pilot, just a passenger."

"I don't care if you're my great aunt in a purple dress! Ya don't get to scare my flock without payin' the price!"

It was then that Zack appeared behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, lighten up pal. He's just a kid."

The man turned and Zack couldn't help but gulp at the fury in the man's expression.

The next thing the two knew they were hauling bales of hay around the barn.

"You just had to go and make him mad, didn't you Zack?" huffed the blonde.

"It wasn't may fault, my charm usually never fails," replied the SOLDIER.

The sputtering of a plane engine alerted the two to Cid's departure. Zack dropped his bale and hurried out of the barn, "Hey! Just where do you think you're going?! You can't just leave us here!"

"Sorry, I told you this is where you boys get off!" the pilot called back as he rose higher into the sky. Zack placed his hands on his hips in annoyance as he followed the plane until it was a mere dot in the sky.

Cloud just shook his head and continued working. As he added his hay to the growing pile he thought he heard a faint whisper. He moved closer to the source as curiosity got the better of him. He hid behind a barrel and peered overhead. From there he could see a girl with short, black hair. She was holding some greens up to a Chocobo and when Cloud saw it he he had to blink a few times in surprise. Since when did chocobo have black feathers?

"C'mon, my pretty. Come with Auntie Yuffie." The girl was trying to coax the bird out from its stall. "Let's get you out of this dusty ol' place and back to my home. I've got butt-loads of yummy greens for you there."

Cloud observed that the bird had no intentions of moving and was watching the girl with annoyance, but it was plain to see that its patience was wearing thin and it would only tolerate so much. In a rare moment of kindness, he decided to help the girl out.

"You know you're about to get bit, right?" he asked as he stepped out of his hiding place and approached the girl.

The girl jumped slightly seeing someone coming, but relaxed when she saw he wasn't angry. "Ugh, don't do that."

"Do what?" asked Cloud.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Nevermind. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where the head chocobo guy running this place is, do ya?"

Cloud shrugged, "After he forced me and my friend to work he headed back into his house."

"Oh good," the girl muttered to herself.

Cloud bent down to get a better look at the bird who seemed to become less annoyed and more curious with its new visitor. "I've never seen a black chocobo before."

The girl smiled. "They're really rare and can be sold for a high price. But, they're also stubborn and moody. I can't get this one out of its stall."

"Need some help?" asked Cloud.

"Pfft, I can handle it on my own thanks." The girl huffed as she snubbed her nose up. Next she all but shoved the green's in the bird's face, causing it to let out a low hiss in response. "What are you, a cat? Birds don't hiss."

"They do if they're angry enough," Cloud replied. "Here, let me try."

The girl glared at him before handing him the greens. "Alright, but it better work. I don't have all day."

Cloud rolled his eyes before turning his attention towards the bird.

First he lowered himself to appear less threatening and then held out an open hand towards the bird to show he was no threat. The bird started to hiss again, but Cloud only gave it a small smile in return.

"It's okay. No one's gonna hurt you. you've been having a pretty bad morning, haven't you?" The hissing slowly stopped as the bird became curious about the boy once more. Cloud's hand inched forward a bit more, "That's right. There's nothing to worry about." Cloud stopped with his hand just a few inches away from the bird's beak and nodded towards it before looking back up at Yuffie.

"See? You gotta go slow and don't force it."

Yuffie blinked in shock as the bird proved Cloud's point as it brought it's head the rest of the way and pressed its beak into the boy's hand. Cloud was still looking at Yuffie, but his smile grew. "And that's how its done."

"So, you have to let them make the first move?" she asked.

"Not exactly, but it helps to gain their trust when they think they're the ones in control and not forced."

The girl nodded slowly as she watched the bird who was now sniffing at the greens in Cloud's other hand. "I think he's hungry."

Cloud held some of the greens to the bird. "Here you go."

The bird hesitated for a moment longer before letting out a small chirp and taking a few in its mouth and began eating.

Yuffie blinked, impressed. "Guess that explains the hair. You're really good with these birds."

The blonde chose to ignore her remark as the bird nudged Cloud's hand for more greens.

"Yo, Spiky! Where'd you go?"

Cloud looked up after hearing Zack's voice. Maybe it meant they were leaving. With that hope in mind he slowly stood, as not to scare the bird and nodded towards Yuffie. "See you."

The SOLDIER was standing outside of the barn, rotating his shoulder after lugging a few more bales of hay. He smirked when Cloud emerged from the barn. "Thanks for leaving me to carry the rest of the work. What happened? Run into a feathered relative in there?"

Cloud stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "Would you quit with the bird jokes already? So what if My hair looks like a chocobo? You wanna make something of it? I'll knock you flat right here, right now!" He stomped his foot down for good measure to show he was serious.

Zack burst out in laughter at the sight. The kid looked so cute and so much like an angry bird it was priceless. "You're a riot, Cloud." It took a little effort to get his laughter under control, but he managed. With a sigh he looked around the field. "I don't see anything else that needs to be done. What do you say we get the heck outta here before that crazy farmer has us milking cows or something?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Cloud agreed.

They headed over towards the base of the water tower where they had stashed their things and were about to head out when a loud commotion came from around the barn. Leaving their things where they were, the two friends rushed to see what was going on. As Zack opened the door wider to get a better look a dark blur shoved past him and took off into the field.

"Whoa! Easy, boy! Take it down a notch, would'ja?"

Cloud hurried over to Zack's aid as the SOLDIER sat on the ground, rubbing his head where the door had hit him. "Are you okay?"

"Eh, nothing an aspirin or a good cure spell won't fix," the SOLDIER replied before looking out into the field. It was a young girl riding on the back of a black chocobo. Cloud recognized the girl he had been speaking to just minutes before. "She doesn't listen to advice very well," he commented, catching Zack's attention before the front door to the farm house flung open and slammed against the outer wall.

The farmer was in a rage as he stormed out towards the field. "What in Shiva's name are ya doin' with my prized bird?! Get away from him!"

"What'd you say? Get away with him?" she asked with a smirk. "If you say so pops!" She kicked the bird in the side which made him take off running towards the fence. With another kick from Yuffie the bird leaped into the air, clearing the four foot high posts and taking off across the open plains.

"You rotten thief! Get back here!" the farmer shouted as he watched her become a black dot in the distance.

Zack appeared at the man's side in an instant. "We'll get it back for you."

The farmer turned and glared at him, "And who the heck are you?"

Zack threw him a salute. "Zack Fair - SOLDIER, First Class. Don't worry sir, we'll have your bird back by the end of the day. C'mon Spiky!"

"Right behind you," the blonde replied as the farmer just gawked as the two headed off in pursuit of the girl before he quickly regained his senses. "Wait! You can't go that way on foot!"

Zack turned and tilted his head, "Why not?"

"'Cuz that dumb brat is heading straight for the marshes! You'll never survive that place on your own!" He headed back towards the barn and motioned for the two to follow him. Cloud looked over at Zack before shrugging and following the farmer. Zack let out an exasperated sigh before bringing up the rear.

_. . ._

Yuffie was whistling a happy tune as her prized catch carried her through the marshes. She wasn't normally a fan of such 'yucky places' as she dubbed them, but she was riding atop a rare black chocobo! She could deal with a little bog as a consolation. "Never got your name from the old farmer so I'll have to come up with a new one. How about Ninja Talon?"

The bird gave a careless chirp in response.

"I'll take that as a no? Okay, how about Midnight Eagle?"

Again the bird gave an annoyed growl. Yuffie pulled on the reigns and made it stop. "What's wrong with that one? Eagles are amazing birds! You should be flattered!"

_"Wark~,"_ the bird replied as it glared at her before it blinked and raised its head to look around.

Yuffie just folded her arms and pouted. "Useless feather-brain. You don't know anything about picking good names, so you should leave it to an expert. I am a princess and I say your name is Black Phoenix. So there."

"WARK!" The bird suddenly began to panic and Yuffie had to hug the bird's neck to keep from falling off. "Whoa! What's gotten into you? If you really hate that name I'll think of something else, sheesh! I bet you wouldn't freak out if that kid had named you. Maybe I should have hired him as my personal Chocobo tamer."

"Hey you!"

Yuffie turned to see two riders on chocobos hot on her tail. "Crap! Let's get outta here!" She kicked the bird who was still nervous and set off running further into the marsh.

Zack snapped the reigns on his bird to make it go faster as he and Cloud hurried to catch up to the girl on the yellow chocobos that the farmer had let them borrow in order to retrieve his prized bird. "Looks like she's not as friendly as you thought Cloud."

The boy had hoped that the girl wouldn't run from him, but it didn't entirely surprise him. "It was worth a try," he replied as his bird hurried to keep up with Zack's. He noticed that both of their birds seemed nervous and he wondered what it was that was making them so on edge.

"That bird she stole sure is fast, I can hardly see her anymore," Zack commented as he kept urging his bird to go faster. Cloud had to admire the advantage that mako was giving his friend. He couldn't see her at all.

Yuffie laughed as she noticed her followers were falling farther and farther behind. "Oh yeah! No one can catch the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

The water in front of her suddenly exploded and the black chocobo warked in a surprised panic before halting in it's tracks, nearly knocking the girl off. She watched in stunned horror as a gigantic serpent-like creature rose up from the marsh and tower over her. It looked down on its prey and roared. Yuffie screamed.

Cloud still couldn't see Yuffie, but he definitely saw _that_. Zack cursed himself as he urged his bird to go faster and Cloud forced himself to bite back his own fear as he followed. The girl was in serious trouble and as he hurried to help the girl Cid's warning came back to him. That creature couldn't be anything but a Zolom!

* * *

_Next Time: The Zolom gets a snack, Cloud gets stuffed and Zack faces the wrath of the General._


	8. Chapter 7: Victory From Within

_Hello all! Sorry for the long hiatus. Aside from a few one-shots and a collab I haven't been updating much. My bad. Real life has been crazy. I'm really happy I was able to get this update out since last chapter ended on a cliffy. I'm hoping this is the start of a comeback with more story updates, but i'm not making any promises. My personal life right now is kinda of odd. I have no idea what's going to happen from one day to the next, so enjoy them as they come and be patient for the ones that don't, but of course, you guys have been awesome like that anyway, so yeah. Enjoy! :)_

* * *

Zack and Cloud raced to get to the young thief in time to protect her, but the SOLDIER glanced over at his friend. "Cloud, I want you to stay out of the fight, just grab the girl and head back to the ranch. No matter what you hear, don't look back."

Cloud's fear was forgotten the moment he heard those words leave Zack's mouth. "Are you NUTS?! I'm not gonna let you take on that thing alone!"

"No offense Spike, but you're not a SOLDIER. I'm a First Class. I can handle myself. An unenhanced kid like you has no chance."

"But Zack-"

"No buts Cloud. If you wanna be in SOLDIER you have to learn to follow orders, especially in times like this. Your mission is to save the girl and the bird and get them back to safety. Understood?"

Cloud could only stare at his friend with a worried look.

"Understood?" Zack tried again. The battle scene coming up fast.

"Yes Sir," Cloud replied in defeat. It was no use trying to argue any further.

The zolom let out a loud, echoing roar as it launched itself towards the Ninja and her stolen chocobo. Yuffie was frozen with fear. It was her stolen steed that saved them. It quickly bucked her off and sent her flying while at the same time diving out of the way of the colossal serpent.

As the creature lifted its head back up the bird took off, leaving the girl behind at the monster's mercy. It was about to strike again, but Zack was now within striking distance. Leaving his chocobo behind, he dismounted and charge ahead, drawing out his sword and putting himself between beauty and the beast.

The monster's head came striking down and Zack countered it with the flat end of his sword. "Now Cloud!"

The blonde, having just caught up halted his frightened bird and reached his hand out to the girl. "Come on!"

"B-but Black Phoenix," Yuffie replied, looking around for her prized stolen chocobo.

"Oh for the love of- Just Get On!" He shouted and the girl was startled into action. She grabbed his hand and he helped her up onto the Chocobo.

With a swift kick the bird started to run back across the marsh the way they came. Cloud tried to focus on the path ahead, but the sound of metal clashing against fangs and scales echoed loudly behind him. _"Just keep going Strife, remember what Zack told you. Don't look back no matter what!"_

"Your pal's in trouble," Yuffie commented in his ear.

Cloud didn't want to look back, but hearing that Zack was having problems made him give in. He looked back and his eyes went wide. Zack wasn't just in trouble, he was in BIG trouble!

The beast had managed to separate sword from SOLDIER and the large Buster Sword was laying on a pile of mossy bushes well out of the warrior's reach as Zack was forced to dodge the beast's powerful strikes. Without the blade he couldn't use his materia and every time he tried to make a move towards the blade the Zolom would strike and force him back. This beast was a smart one and Zack was finding he was wishing one of the other Firsts were here providing back up. Heck, he'd even take a lecture from Sephiroth if the General would just appear and slice the damn thing in half!

Zack couldn't even think of anything witty to use to taunt the beast, every move he made determined whether he lived or died and it was all he could do at that moment to not prove the latter.

As Zack dodged another strike he was knocked off his feet as the Zolom's tail came out of no where and tripped him. The serpent went to strike then but a rock struck it in the eye and it roared in pain.

"Hey ugly! Over here!"

Zack turned to see Cloud about twenty feet away with another rock in his hand before throwing it and striking one of its fangs. The warrior was horrified and infuriated.

"Cloud! What are you doing? Get out of here!"

"No way," the blonde replied, "It's payback time. You saved me, now I'm returning the favor!"

The serpent turned its focus from Zack and hissed at Cloud. He was terrified, but he wasn't about to show it in front of Zack. He pulled out his hunting knife and glared at the Zolom. The beast was unphased by the small morsel's weapon and dove for a strike, but Cloud jumped out of the way, but only barely. Zack knew he had to be fast. A trained SOLDIER like him would consider this a challenge, but to a small boy it was impossible. He had to get to his sword and end this before it was too late.

The zolom was one step ahead of him however and swept its tail at Zack again. Obviously the monster could handle more than one opponent, but it was still mostly focused on the less experienced prey as it continued to go after Cloud. Zack scrambled and fought to get closer to his sword and was ready when the tail came at him again. Instead of being tripped this time he jumped up and ran up the zolom's tail. The beast turned its head to see what the bigger prey was up to and flicked its tail like a whip, flicking the SOLDIER off with ease. Zack went flying and landed awkwardly in a bush.

He shook his head to clear it and when he looked up he realized how close he was to his Buster sword. With a beaming smile he made a mad dash for his sword, but just as he was about to grab it he wondered where the tail had went. That's when he heard the scream.

Zack whipped around and saw the beast's tail wrapped around Cloud and lifted him into the air, only to let go. Zack watched in horror as he saw the kid fall right into the beast's mouth and the jaws clamp shut, cutting off the boy's scream.

"NOOOOO!" With a cry that sounded like a roaring bahamutt, Zack grabbed his sword and lept twenty feet into the air and swung his blade at the monster. The zolom turned and dodged a fatal blow, but was knocked back, landing heavily on its side.

"Give him back!" Zack shouted as he swung his sword. The zolom raised its tail to strike at Zack, but he hacked it clean off, causing the beast to roar in agony. It hissed and was about to strike out at Zack, but then something odd happened. It froze in mid air. Zack was about to strike when the beast started hissing and its jaws opened wide as blood began to drip from its mouth. The creature looked like it was having trouble breathing and it started to make a noise that Zack thought sounded like coughing.

The next thing he knew the creature started thrashing and curling in on itself. The SOLDIER had no choice but to fall back and watch the creature go into a series of death throws. It lasted for a minute or two before the creature gave one last attempt to clear the blood from its throat before it gave into death and lay still.

Zack approached it carefully and when he got close enough he fell to his knees, letting his sword fall beside him. The creature was dead, but it was a hollow victory.

"Oh Cloud, why didn't you listen?" He closed his eyes and tried to fight back the tears.

Out of anger he punched the creature's side. "Damn it, WHY!" He hit it again and again. He was about to punch it once more when the edge of a knife emerged from the carcass and made Zack retract his hand quickly before it was stabbed.

"What the?" asked the SOLDIER as the knife went back in only to emerge in a different spot. Hope shot through Zack so hard that he fumbled with his sword. Once he had it he called out loudly, "Back up buddy! I don't know how thick this thing's hide is!"

With that warning out of the way he stabbed the dead monster's flesh with his sword and started cutting it away. Once he had made a big enough opening the blood flowed freely. Zack tried to peer inside, but a blood-stained hand reached out and Zack took it and pulled the kid free.

Cloud emerged from the dead zolom choking and gasping for air, the hunter's knife he had dropped to the ground as he was freed. Zack smiled at him through tears and hugged the young boy who was nearly dyed red from the blood. "I thought you were a goner, Don't ever do that to me again, kid."

"I thought I was too," Cloud replied. His hair was flat and soaked with blood and he was exhausted, but otherwise unharmed.

Zack pulled him back enough to look at him. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Cloud shook his head. "How did you do it?" Zack asked as he looked back at the dead monster.

Cloud looked down at the knife laying at his feet. "I figured I had nothing left to lose. If I was going to die, I was going to take it with me, so I went to stab the creature in the throat, but then I was thrown down its throat and somehow ended up in its big lung and figured it was the perfect place to kill it from the inside. I just didn't expect there would be so much blood. I nearly drowned in it."

Zack couldn't help it. He laughed. "Spiky, you are gonna make one hell of a SOLDIER!" He ruffled the kid's sticky hair only to pull his hand back and look at his now blood stained hand in disgust. "We might want to get you cleaned up before we head for Midgar."

_. . ._

Four days later Zack smiled as he gazed upon a familiar sight. Shinra Headquarters never looked so good. It had been a long journey back from what was supposed to be a short and easy mission. Kill a few monsters and save a town. The mission hadn't gone as planned, but Zack had decided to look on the bright side. He had made a new friend from the whole event and now he only had to focus on keeping that friend safe from the dangers of the city. But he was a SOLDIER and if Angeal could keep Zack alive in Midar during his training then Zack could make sure Cloud survived. Speaking of which...

Zack poked the large back pack that he was carrying over his shoulder. "You okay in there?"

"The zolom's lung was more roomy than this," was the reply.

Zack chuckled in reponse. "Don't worry, we're just about there. Once we make it up to my apartment I'll let you out."

The SOLDIER entered the building and headed up the stairs that led to the elevator. Swiping his card he waited patiently for the elevator to reach the lobby floor. When the doors slid open Zack's eyes went wide as he was greeted by the towering form of General Sephiroth.

The silverette glared down at his fellow First Class and narrowed his eyes causing Zack to gulp. "H-hey General. Long time no see."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Zackary."

* * *

_Next Time: Angeal scolds a puppy, Zack has some explaining to do and the Chocobo is let out of the bag...sort of._


	9. Chapter 8: The Meeting

_Well, this is the second update that I promised. I wasn't sure if it would be ready in time, but I had some free time the other day and used it to catch up on updates so, yay! Ahem, anyways, while I'm working on current updates I also started a few other stories. Yes, I have more than enough on my plate, but when an idea comes to you, sometimes you can't just ignore it. That's one of the things about being a fanfic writer, or any writer period. That's how this story came to be and while the new idea I'm working on has both the start and the final climax written it's no where near ready to be uploaded. That will come after I've finished at least two of my current stories. It is FF7 related and it's another AU, but it's one I've never tried before and it has a returning character that I felt shouldn't be forgotten. I'm not saying who it is, but I'll give you a hint: He's shown up in a Kingdom Hearts fanfic of mine that isn't as popular as my others, however he has strong ties to the FF7 characters. Plus we get to see baby Cirrus grown up, yet it doesn't follow the storyline where she is born._

_Okay, enough spoilers. Time to get to the main attraction. Enjoy this latest chapter everyone and I'll see you later!_

_Happy Holidays!_

* * *

The elevator ride up was a nervous one. Had Zack not been a First Class SOLDIER he'd have been in fear for his life. After all, not many got a personal escort from the General. Pushing his nerves aside, Zack wracked his brain trying to figure out why the General had personally come to fetch him. At least it seemed that way. Sephiroth certainly hadn't made any indications that he had wanted to get off and he looked rather annoyed. It was very hard to tell what the General was feeling, but Zack was starting to get an idea. For example, his normal stoic frown seemed a hair more intense and the way he glared at the control panel was another indication. Zack deduced that he was either annoyed or irritated. Not that he'd be surprised. This place could get the better of you on the best of days. And Zack being Zack, he wanted to try and cheer his general up.

"So, how's it going?"

No response.

"Any word from Wutai?"

Still no response.

"Did you hear who won last night's Chocobo Race?"

"Lieutenant."

Zack shut up at the hidden reprimand. Obviously he was only making things worse.

"I'm sorry General, I've just been gone for so long that I missed you."

Sephiroth glanced in Zack's direction which made the ravenette both happy and nervous. He had gotten the General's attention, but was it a good thing?

"The details of your failed mission will be discussed shortly. I suggest you think carefully about what you say. Shinra doesn't take kindly to those who are incapable of turning out positive results."

"Positive results?!" Zack did a full body turn. "What the heck does that mean?! It wasn't my fault the mission failed!"

The elevator dinged and Sephiroth closed his eyes. "Then I'd make sure you have proof to back up your claim since you were the only SOLDIER to make it back."

Zack actually glared at the General as he stepped off the elevator, but the General's voice made him stop.

"And I suggest you find another home for whatever pet you brought back. A traveling pack is not a proper habitat. You wouldn't want the science department to get a hold of it."

With that the doors closed and the Elevator moved on to the next floor. Zack huffed at the thought. "As if. He thinks he's knows everything just because he's the best warrior. He may have silver hair, but it doesn't make him all knowing and wise, right Spiky?"

The bag was silent. Zack guessed the kid was too nervous at being caught to chance a reply. The SOLDIER just shrugged it off and kept heading down the hall. It was then that it dawned on him. This wasn't his floor. This was the floor for the meeting rooms. He turned to leave when someone approached him from further down the hall. "Lieutenant Fair, we've been waiting."

Zack was a little surprised to see a Turk here. It only meant that this was a more serious matter than he first thought. Though he had to admit, he was a bit disappointed to see Rude and not Tseng. He had barely known the man other than a few passing glances in the halls. Rude was always so quiet and rivaled Sephiroth when it came to a sense of humor, though Reno had told him that it existed, it was just very hard to get to.

"Why don't I catch up? I've got to drop off my stuff and then I'll be back. It won't take long."

"Neither will this," Rude replied.

Zack merely shrugged, "No, seriously, my pack reeks. I tussled with a Zolom the other day and when I killed it the thing's blood and guts spewed all over it before the creature finally fell. I spent almost two hours trying to dig it out. I think I'll be doing all of us a favor if I take care of it now."

Rude made no movement at first, but then he adjusted his glassed and turned, "Be quick."

Zack hid the smirk as he rushed back to the elevator and pushed the button for his floor, hoping that the General had already gotten off. Thankfully when the doors slid open it was empty and it didn't take long to get to the SOLDIER floors. With a relieved and heavy sigh, Zack entered his apartment and plopped the bag down before collapsing on the couch.

"Boy, does it feel good to finally be home," he exclaimed as he leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. A noise to his right reminded him that he had forgotten something very important.

"Gah, sorry 'bout that Cloud!"

Zack was quick to unzip it and Cloud poked his head out and gasped for breath before glaring up at Zack. "Thanks for remembering me," he replied flatly.

"Hey, I said I was sorry." With his friend freed, Zack waved his hand around the apartment. "Welcome to my humble diggs. What's mine is yours. Feel free to raid the kitchen, though I don't think there's much in the fridge. I haven't been home in a while, so the milk's probably bad. I'll order us some pizza or something when I get back from my debriefing."

"What are you going to tell them?" asked Cloud.

Zack shrugged, "Mostly the truth, though I will have to leave a few details out."

"Like how I came back with you?"

"Pretty much. After all, it's not exactly legal what I did. By all rights I should have left you with Nanaki and Bugenhagen."

"Yeah, but I was originally going to join SOLDIER anyway, so I would have ended up here eventually."

Zack huffed at his little friend. "Yeah, about that - You're still underage."

"What do you mean?" asked Cloud.

"You've got to be at least fourteen to even start training to be a cadet. Shinra doesn't let kids join the army, no matter what branch they're aiming for. You've still got a good three years before you can even dream to aim for SOLDIER."

Cloud was surprised by this news and out of anger he kicked Zack in the shin. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Zack sat up and rubbed his shin before pouting his reply. "First of all, ow. Secondly, We didn't exactly get a chance to talk about it with all the craziness we had to face on the return trip home."

Cloud walked over to sit by the window and folded his arms. "Well this stinks. I finally make it to Midgar yet I'm farther than ever from making SOLDIER."

Zack sighed before standing up. "Look, I'd explain everything now, but I've got a meeting to report to. Try not to get into too much trouble and try to keep it down in here. SOLDIERs have _very _good hearing thanks to mako."

Cloud didn't even look at Zack as the SOLDIER went to leave. "Sure, whatever."

Zack shook his head in defeat as he opened the door. "Later Spiky."

_**. . .**_

Zack let out another sigh as he stepped off the elevator and headed to the meeting room where Rude had been waiting. He wasn't there now which told Zack that he made the Turk wait too long and would most likely get a reprimand for it. It would go along nicely with the kind of day he was having. So far he had annoyed Sephiroth, crushed his new friend's hopes and was in desperate need of something to eat other than rations.

Suddenly a hand came out of nowhere and slapped him hard in the back sending him stumbling forward a few paces. He turned to glare at the guy only to smile instead.

"Angeal!"

"Pup," the older ravenette replied.

Zack happily gave his mentor a salute, but the older man merely placed his hand on his pupil's shoulder. "It's good to see you home and safe."

"It's good to see you too," Zack replied. "Haven't gotten too bored while I was gone I hope?"

"Heh, more like made me worry if I had lost my best student. You've given me more gray hairs in this past week then in the last five years."

"Ou~ can I see?"

Angeal chuckled as he fended off his protégé while Zack tried to peer over his head to get a good look. "Down boy, we're late for the meeting."

He led the way through the double doors where they took the remaining empty seats. Zack was a bit surprised to see everyone who had attended the meeting. The director he expected, but he was a little surprised to see Professor Hojo of all people. Beside him sat the Turks Rude and Tseng.

"Where's Reno?" asked Zack. Normally if two Turks were present for a meeting it meant something serious, especially if one of them was Tseng.

"It doesn't matter; let's just get on with this report. I'm very busy at the moment," snapped the professor. It didn't take Zack much to figure out that he was in a bad mood, though, when the guy was ever in a good mood was a mystery to him.

"Indeed," the director replied. He then looked over to Tseng who nodded. Everyone was ready to hear the SOLDIER's report. "Please, begin Lieutenant Fair. What happened on your mission and why did it take you so long to return?"

Zack rubbed the back of his neck before Angeal cleared his throat as a warning to not keep those present waiting any longer than he already had.

"Right, so, the chopper I was in crashed and I was the only one who made it out alive. I was totally lost until I ran into a kid. He pointed me in the direction of Nibelheim and when I got there I was already too late. From what I got from the villagers I would have been too late even if the chopper hadn't crashed. Still, I scouted the area for any sign of monsters."

The director held up his hand and Zack stopped. "What kinds of monsters were responsible?"

"There were a few Nibel wolves in the area," Zack replied, "but they weren't the cause. From what I gathered it was two large dragons that had descended from the nearby mountains. A villager told me that the mayor had sent a group to investigate and returned with a dragon's egg, which they destroyed. It was only then that the dragons attacked. I followed the dragons' trail and found them both dead. They had been killed by a hunter in a red cloak."

"A red cloak?" asked Tseng. "That doesn't blend in very well. What makes you think he was a hunter?"

Zack shrugged. "Who else would go out and kill two dragons? Though, he did say that he saved some villagers and he also mentioned something about the mansion."

"What about it?" asked Hojo.

This surprised Zack. Since when did the professor care about anything other than science? "Only that it was destroyed. That's what made him wake up or something."

The professor's eyes shined in a way that made Zack feel very uncomfortable. Angeal noticed and tried to change the focus of the topic. "What happened after that?"

Zack nodded a silent thanks to him before continuing. "The villagers mentioned that many of them had died, but there was one who had left before the attack started. They said he knew about the monsters when he left and they blamed the cause of the attack on him. But I had spoken to him and he said he tried to warn everyone, but no one listened to him."

"I think you've mixed up your story, Fair," Tseng interrupted. "How could you have spoken to him if he had already left?"

"Because he was the kid who pointed me in the right direction; I helped the villagers as best as I could before running off to find him. It was getting dark and there was a storm coming. When I finally did find him hours later it was a in a roaring blizzard and he had fallen on the ice. As I went to get him the ice broke and he went under. Naturally I saved him, but he was in serious danger from the cold. I brought him to a nearby village and left him there…"

He went on to tell them of the journey back, though most were uninterested in it. Zack hated lying about leaving Cloud out of most of the story. "And then the Zolom let out a painful cry before it fell and I cut my way out of its lung and that's pretty much it except for the trek back to Midgar." He finished, finally glad to have that story over.

"Sounds like you had the eventful week," Angeal commented.

"Yes," the director replied before looking back to each of the others in the room before looking back at Zack. "Well, I'm glad you returned in one piece Lieutenant. If no one else has any additional questions…" he waited for a moment before finishing, "you're dismissed."

Zack stood and saluted, "Thank you, sir," and stepped out with Angeal following behind.

Once in the hall Angeal eyed his student closely. They got on the elevator together and waited until they were on the SOLDIER apartment floor before he chose to speak.

"I know you, Zack. You left something out. It's a miracle you manage to hide it from Tseng."

The younger warrior smirked in defeat. Of all the people in Shinra it would be Angeal to figure it out first…

"What took you so long to get home? I know you're a lot faster on foot than _that!"_

…or maybe not.

"Well, to be honest, I was worried about the kid. He didn't look so good when we got into town. I stayed, hoping he'd pull through."

Angeal nodded in understanding. "And did he?"

Zack nodded, "the village headman said he'd be okay. The guy's grandson hardly left his bedside. He knew a lot about healing and was pretty smart for his…age."

Angeal nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't take the kid back with you."

At this Zack got a bit nervous. "Are you kidding?" he forced a chuckle. "A country kid like him wouldn't last two days on the mean streets of Midgar."

Angeal smirked at his student. "Genesis said the same about you when I chose you as my pupil."

"So, why was Hojo there for the meeting?" Came Zack's next question.

Angeal only shrugged, "Who knows? That's partly why I sat in on it."

Zack smiled and tried to tease his mentor. "N'aww, you were worried about me?"

"Please, give me some credit pup. I was merely curious."

Zack placed his hands on his hips and nodded, "Sure, sure. Whatever you say Angeal."

Angeal chuckled before placing a hand on Zack's shoulder. "In any case, I'm glad you're back safe. Try to get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow for our early morning spar."

"Rodger that sir," Zack replied with a friendly salute. Angeal just shook his head with a smile and turned to head back to the elevator.

"Oh, and I already ordered you a welcome home pizza, but it looks like it hasn't arrived yet," Angeal called back.

Zack waved to him before turning the knob on his door. He had a feeling he knew where the pizza had gone and sure enough he was right. The pizza box was lying open on the coffee table with four pieces missing. Zack noticed something else was missing, or rather, someone. A burp towards the kitchen told him where his little buddy had vanished to.

The fridge closed as Cloud rested his glass and a bottle of soda on the marble island. "This stuff is horrible. Why do you have it?"

Zack chuckled as he walked over and looked at the date on the soda bottle. "I told you, I've been gone for a while and that stuff's gone flat by now. It's normally pretty tasty."

"Yeah, well I needed something to wash down that pizza. I was hungry."

"I can tell," Zack replied as he grabbed a plate and took the rest of the pizza for himself.

"Hey, what if I want more later?" asked Cloud.

"You've already eaten half of it! I'll get some more food tomorrow. SOLDIERs need a lot more food than normal people. We can't leap twenty feet in the air and survive horrible wounds without a lot of fuel. Mako only does so much ya know."

Cloud shrugged before plopping on the couch. "Sure, fine. So, how'd your meeting go?"

"Boring," Zack replied. "Well, except for this one creepy guy that works here. I don't know why he was at the meeting. He's normally cooped up in his lab. Let me tell you Spiky, if you ever bump into a guy with greasy hair with glasses and a white lab coat, run the other way. Hojo is one freaky dude and I'd trust him about as much as I'd trust a Nibel wolf to guard chocobo eggs."

Cloud shuddered at the thought of that. "Noted."

* * *

_Next time: Zack and Cloud go shopping and Yellow meets Silver!_


	10. Chapter 9: Guilty Pleasures

_I may have let this chapter get away from me a bit and I may have also broken the forth wall. Whether that was a clever idea or a bad one is up to you, the readers, but I thought it was ironically funny as it slightly reflects the issue of us game fans having to wait forever for the remake to be released. hopefully part one is done at least sometime next year for the 20th anniversary. Gah! I'm totally hyped about the trailers I've seen so far. lol, but enough fangirling, This chapter starts to mov ethe plot along and throws in an interesting twist at the end._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Zack entered his apartment and let out a big sigh of relief. The strap from the large duffle bag he had been carrying slid from his shoulder and the bag hit the ground with a heavy thud followed by a groan from the boy hiding within. This time however Cloud was able to unzip himself to freedom and took in a deep breath followed by an equally relieved sigh. "That was close."

"No kidding," Zack replied.

Cloud crawled out of the bag and rummaged through their supplies. "Well, the bread's smushed and I think a few eggs were broken, but everything else looks fine."

"Well, if we have to eat damaged food so be it. I'm not going back and risk bumping into him again."

Cloud turned away from the bag and slumped his shoulders in his cross-legged position. "I can't believe it. My first glimpse of him and I almost ruin everything."

"Eh, it's not your fault Spiky. How were we supposed to know he'd be there? Sephiroth almost always stays in the building."

The boy didn't feel any better though. "It still doesn't change that fact that I blew it. It doesn't matter if I wait for SOLDIER or not. If he figures out I'm here then I'm doomed anyway."

"Don't be so down, Cloud. So what if they find out you're here? The worst they can do is tell me off and throw you in an orphanage or something."

The boy shut his eyes and rose to his feet only to walk over to the window and glance out of it. From the high floor they were on he could easily see the city below. If he looked hard enough through the polluted smog he could even see the edge of the plate. "An orphanage… I can't go there. I won't."

"Spike?" Zack was getting worried now.

"An orphanage is a place kids go when they have no family. Until a couple of weeks ago, I had a one and now it's…" He couldn't bring himself to finish.

Zack stood up from leaning against the door and approached him. He had seen his young friend like this once before, but he had a feeling then that he hadn't been able to get all of his grief out. He still hadn't come to terms with it seemed.

"It's not gone Cloud. As long as you remember, your family will never truly die."

"That's just stuff people say to make others feel better. It's not really true," Cloud replied while fighting back a sniffle.

"Yes, it is. Listen to me," he grabbed his friend by the shoulders and turned the boy to face him. "Look, I've never mentioned her before because I wanted to protect her and her secret, but I have a friend who lives in the slums. She's really in tune with both nature and the Lifestream."

"The what stream?" asked Cloud.

"The Lifestream. It's the lifeblood of the planet or something. My friend explains it better and Bugenhagen also mentioned something about it. They both described it the same way though. It's where all life is born and where all life returns to after death. So, no one is really gone, we're all just part of the cycle of life…or something."

"You're really bad at explaining things," Cloud replied.

"I know, and I'm trying. Look, all I'm saying is that even if they seem gone, they never really leave us. Not as long as we remember them. Your mom would be proud of you for making it even this far. Heck, if it were up to me you'd be a Third Class already."

"You're just saying that," the blonde replied.

Zack shook his head and put on a serious face. "No, I'm not. Don't forget, you took down a Zolom. That's hard for a SOLDIER to do let alone a twelve year old boy with no mako enhancements. And you did it in the most ingenious way. Most people would panic and give up once those jaws clamp shut, but you didn't. You used your head and that stubborn pride and got yourself outta there. You should have seen it on the outside. That thing was really twisting in on itself. I had to back off just to keep from getting trampled."

"What's the point? It won't bring her back." Cloud tried to push away, but Zack held on. "I know it won't. And if there was a way I'd be the first to try. And I dunno, maybe if we do get found out I can try to adopt you as my little brother or something."

"Can you do that?" asked Cloud.

Zack scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure. But either way, we gotta find a better way of going in and out of here undetected."

"Yeah, I definitely don't want to bump into the General like that again," Cloud replied.

_**[Two Hours Earlier…]**_

Zack and Cloud needed to get the apartment restocked on supplies, mainly food. To do this they'd need to go out. Zack wanted to set out alone but Cloud made it clear that he was not going to be stuck in Zack's small place for the next three years. So, Zack relented, stuffed Cloud back into the backpack and acted as casual as possible while they made their way out of the building. Once a few blocks away Zack darted into an alley and let the chocobo out of the bag. They walked for a good way before they found a local food store and began stocking up on supplies when Cloud bumped into something and frowned at it.

"Ugh, stupid card-board cut out," he grumbled as he walked past the figure and looked at a shelf of canned food.

"I am in fact quite real," came the silky chilling voice. Cloud stiffened and turned only to have his blue eyes widen at the man who was looking down on him with slitted cat-like eyes. The man's eyes narrowed and Cloud nearly choked while taking in a sharp gasp. General Sephiroth was staring him down like a predator would glare at its prey. The young boy found himself unable to move. It was Zack who saved the day.

"There you are Spiky. What's wrong?"

"Zack," the General addressed his SOLDIER making Zack's smirk vanish as he poked his head around the corner. "General? What are you doing here?"

"Who is your friend?" asked the silverette, not bothering to answer his subordinate.

"Him," Zack glanced over at Cloud whose eyes couldn't widen anymore. "He's uh…" He knew Sephiroth was getting annoyed at the delayed answer if the expression in his eyes was anything to go by. The man didn't really show much in the way of facial expression, but his eyes were another matter, especially when the mako shine increased with his temper. That's when Zack saw a canned label that had some flowers on it and the idea came to him. "He's my friend's little brother. He's never been above the plate so I thought I'd show him around, isn't that right buddy?"

Cloud tried to recover his voice enough to reply, but all he could muster was a hasty nod.

Sephiroth turned to glance at the boy before returning his gaze to his SOLDIER. "You took your time answering. Stalling is an indication of lying. You should know my reputation as an interrogator by now, Fair."

"I wasn't lying," Zack defended, sounding hurt. "You just surprised me, Sir. I didn't expect to run into you at the supermarket. Why are you here, anyway?" he tried again, hoping to change the subject. "Don't you have your groceries delivered?"

Sephiroth looked over to the soup counter and pulled out some instant packs of Wutai noodles. "They do not always deliver everything on my list. On rare occasions I must retrieve the missed items myself. This is one of those times."

Zack peeked closer to the hand basket. "Huh, never took you for a noodle person."

Sephiroth pulled the basket away and switched it to his other arm. "I was stationed in Wutai for several years - sometimes it was all we had aside from rations. It's not a habit I'm proud of, but it's also something I rather enjoy."

Zack smiled at this, "Oh, I get it. This is your guilty pleasure!"

"My what?"

"Your guilty pleasure - something that isn't the best thing for you, but you give it to yourself as a reward or when you're stressed out."

"I thought that only included chocolate or baked goods," the General replied.

At this Zack snickered, "N'ah man. It could be anything that isn't good for you. My mom used to make Red Velvet cupcakes for herself when she needed a break and raising me was a tough challenge,"

"I cannot imagine why," the General replied.

Cloud couldn't help cracking a smirk.

"Seph~," Zack whined before continuing his little story. "Well, she wouldn't eat them all and always had a few left over for me. They were some of the best cupcakes on the planet and I always felt energized after eating them."

"My sympathies to your mother," The General commented.

Cloud tried to fight back his laughter, but couldn't help a small chuckle. This caught the General's attention. He decided to include the boy in on their conversation. "And what guilty pleasure do you have?"

The boy was reluctant to answer, but a nod from Zack helped him find his voice. "Well, on bad days Mom would make her specialty meal; at least, that's what she called it. It wasn't anything really special. Just some vegetable soup with some spaghetti noodles mixed into the broth. We didn't have much, but it always made me forget why I was feeling down in the first place."

Sephiroth didn't miss the frown and the pain-filled expression in the boy's eyes. Zack tried to get his General's attention off of Cloud and back onto him. "So, any hints on what my next mission will be?"

"You're next mission won't be for another two weeks. You've been placed on leave after your last mission. You're also required to visit the SOLDIER consular, due to the loss of your party on the mission."

Zack smiled at the General and shrugged. "I'll be fine Seph. It does bug me a little, but there was nothing I could have done to prevent what happened. It was an accident and I'll miss Captain Rodney's jokes, but they died doing what they love. Going out on missions and helping people."

Sephiroth could sense the sadness in Zack's reply. He was putting on a strong front, possibly for the boy, but he knew his fellow First Class. He'd have to mention this to Angeal later.

Sephiroth took his leave then; having gotten the items he wanted he headed back to Headquarters. Zack and Cloud grabbed the essentials. Bread, cheese, milk, toilet paper (Zack couldn't stand the sand paper that the company gave out), butter, eggs, some hamburger meat and hot dogs, two soda bottles, some snacks and Zack's favorite soup; Ramen. The SOLDIER figured it would do for now and he'd run down to get more later. When it came time for Cloud to go back in the bag they had to try and make sure nothing would get damaged. It was a tight fit, with Cloud having to hold the more breakable stuff.

They had nearly run into some Turks and although Zack wanted to say hey to Reno, he couldn't risk them finding Cloud, so he managed to elude them. The price to pay for his success once he got in the elevator was a sudden smell of egg yolk and a muffled, "Ew."

_**[Present…]**_

Zack shook his head as he walked over to the bag and brought it into the kitchen and began unloading the groceries and putting them away. Cloud went to help, but Zack refused and told him to grab some soda and plop on the couch.

"There's not much on TV at this time of day," Zack commented from the kitchen, "and I do have a game system, but Reno's currently borrowing it and won't give it back until he's beaten the game."

Cloud blinked in confusion, he had no idea what his friend was talking about. He barely saw a TV growing up let alone whatever Zack meant by a gaming system. He chose not to comment and instead flipped through the channels. Zack was right. The programs were beyond boring. Instead he turned it off and looked around the apartment instead. He found a small drawer and pulled out some of the cases he thought were music, but they looked more like movies. "Hey Zack, what are these?"

The teen looked up from where he was in the kitchen and smirked. "Those are my other games that Reno didn't care for. He likes army and gun-style games better. Those are my Final Fantasy games."

"Final Fantasy," the boy repeated.

"Yep, I have One through Six. I wish they'd hurry up and release the Seventh game though. It seems like it's been forever."

Cloud shrugged, figuring a game must be like a story. "Maybe they're not finished writing it yet."

"Writing it? Yeah, I guess. The guy in charge of the project did say it was a long story and that it had a lot of characters. I just hope this one has a lot of action and humor."

"I'm sure if you were in it it'd be hilarious," Cloud replied.

"Yeah, but the main character's supposed to be this guy who had a rocky past and got caught up in something big and now thinks he's a hotshot and can do the impossible. At least, that's what the latest feed from the gaming interview site had to say. Heh, I'd love to see him go up against Sephiroth, that guy has to be the greatest warrior in the world. No one can best him with a sword."

"But what if he didn't have his sword on him?" asked Cloud.

"Impossible," Zack replied. "He always has his sword, even if you can't see it."

Cloud blinked in surprise. He had heard rumors that Sephiroth's sword was about as long as he was tall. It was hard to imagine how he could hide a weapon that big.

_**. . .**_

Far off to the East in the hot, dusty terrain of Cosmo Canyon, a figure clad in red faced down a saber-like cat with a flaming tail. The two didn't communicate through words. Instead, the first figure merely stepped aside and revealed a small, open box. The creature approached slowly. Inside were three people who had been shrunken and put to sleep with materia. Two appeared injured, but their wounds had been treated to some degree. When the cat looked up the other figure had vanished. Not one to leave people behind, the cat gripped the side of the box with his mouth and carried it carefully back to his village.

* * *

_Next Time: Flowers bloom in Midgar, Zack tries to figure out how to make it work, Angeal drops by for a chat and Cloud gets a letter._


	11. Chapter 10: Running Out of Luck

_Well it's about time I update this thing, right? sorry it took so long. This summer's been so busy. I rarely have time to myself these days. I'm also trying to find a job and that's taking up much of my time. but on a positive note I managed to sneak a few hours for myself over the weekend and I was able to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoy what's in store!_

_Also, I'm trying out line breaks for this chapter instead of dots. If it works out better then I may use them for all of my stories in the future, but we'll see._

* * *

A small group of birds scattered as Zack pushed open the doors to the Sector Five church, Cloud following behind. He wasn't sure what to make of it. It appeared run down and deserted. How did Zack expect to meet anyone in here? But a gentle humming soon corrected him. At the end of the isle, past the rows of wooden pews was a large patch of flowers growing up through the middle of the floor. As they got closer Cloud saw that the wooden planks in the center were missing. Whether they had been torn out intentionally or rotted away naturally he couldn't tell.

At the edge of the field, with her back turned was a girl in a white sun dress. Her Chesnutt brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her brown boots were sticking out from her dress as she bent over to tend to one of the flowers. Zack smiled and started whistling along with the tune she had been humming.

The girl looked up with a start, only to smile and set down her gardening tools before standing and heading to meet him.

"Zack, where in Gaia's name have you been?" she asked as he threw his arms around her in a protective, yet gentle hug.

"Oh, just took on a mountain with a chopper, wrestled with some northern storms, made some new friends, battled a couple'a zoloms, same old same old."

She only giggled in response, "Oh Zack. Must you exaggerate so much?"

"Actually," Cloud corrected, "he's not," he stopped when Zack gave him a wide-eyed looked and made a slicing hand gesture at his neck with the flat of his hand out of the girl's sight.

"He's not what?" the girl asked.

"Uh, not exaggerating as much as he normally does," Cloud corrected himself. "You should have heard him tease me about motion sickness on the boat ride over from Costa Del Sol."

The girl scowled at the teen, "Really Zack. He's just a kid. Must you be such a bully?"

"Wha, I'm not a bully! If anything I'm like a big brother to 'im, ain't that right Spiky?"

"Sure, that's why you challenged me to that wrestling match," Cloud replied.

She turned and glared at Zack who held his hands up defensively, "It's not as bad as it sounds, honest!"

"Zack, I swear," she began, but Cloud only shrugged. "That's okay. I beat him in the end," he replied with a smug grin.

The girl smiled warmly back at him. "I'm glad to know he's met someone who can stand up to him and put him in his place. I'm Aerith by the way."

"Cloud Strife," he replied. Suddenly this meeting wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be. When Zack mentioned he knew someone in the slums he didn't expect to meet someone so nice.

Zack then scratched the back of his head, wondering how to address the favor he wanted to ask. Aerith was onto him quickly. "What do you want to ask me?"

The SOLDIER forgot how clever she was. "I was wondering if you could watch Cloud for a bit, at least until I can figure out how to adopt him."

Aerith blinked in surprise at him. "I never took you for being a father figure at such a young age, aren't you a little busy being a SOLDIER?"

"No, not like that," Zack corrected. "I want to adopt him as a brother, since well…" he went silent for a moment.

"Since my family was killed when my town was destroyed," Cloud finished.

Aerith's hand shot up to her mouth in shocked sorrow. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

Cloud merely shrugged while staring at the floor. "It hurts, but there's nothing I can do about it, so why bother getting upset?"

Aerith looked over at Zack who merely folded his arms and shook his head. "That's not healthy Spike. People become cold-hearted that way. You can't shut yourself off from your emotions like that." He then turned to Aerith. "See, I can't always be around to cheer him up when this happens. We've already had a close run-in with the general and it's only a matter of time before one of my other friends stumbles by for a visit and sees him and then it'll all be over."

Aerith sighed, "Zack, I wish I could, but the Turks have been watching me rather closely. I imagine it may be because you weren't around to visit, but still. It's not safe for him to stay for the time being. He's safer with you right now."

Zack sighed in defeat. "Fine, but in return if anyone asks, he's your little brother."

"And where did this come from?" she asked with a suspicious look.

"It's what I told Sephiroth when we bumped into him at the grocery store the other day. He looked kinda scary and that was the first thing that flew out of my mouth," he told her sheepishly.

"You know that won't work," she scolded him. "The Turks know everything about me."

Zack began to deflate, even his spikes began drooping.

"But," hearing that word gave him a bit of hope, "I could just say that my mother decided to take in a child who I found with no home or family. She knows I have a big heart and the Turks would believe a story like that. However it may be tricky if they figure out we took him in after Sephiroth saw him with you."

Zack smirked at this. "That won't be a problem. I can just talk my way out of it. I'm good at that."

The flower girl giggled, "Yes you are."

They spent the rest of their time together tending to the flowers and chatting. Cloud didn't really care much for their lovey-dovey moments, but Aerith kept him busy by showing him how to properly trim the plants and educating him to be able tell weeds from flowers.

"You're pretty good in a garden," she praised him.

"My mom used to have a garden behind the house. It was small, but we'd grow some vegetables so we wouldn't have to keep buying them," he replied while trying not to get too upset while talking about his mother.

Aerith frowned, feeling bad and placed a hand on his shoulder. She then gave him a warm smile. "You should smile when you talk about her, because I don't sense any sadness on her end."

Cloud was about to ask her what she meant when Zack's PHS rang. The SOLDIER looked down at it and sighed when he read the text message. "Hate to cut this meeting short, but duty calls."

"Please don't stay away for so long next time," Aerith pleaded as she hugged him goodbye.

"Can't make any promises, but I'll try," he replied.

* * *

Ever since taking on a student, Angeal Hewley had adopted a wutain form of meditation. It had been odd at first, but the benefits to clearing one's mind did wonders for relieving stress, especially when that stress came from looking after Zack Fair. Even if Zack was a First Class, he still had much to learn. With him currently away and with some free time on his hands, Angeal found it the perfect time to relieve of the stress the pup had put on him this week.

That's when the knock came. With a single, low groan, the commander stood up and opened the door. He was surprised to see Sephiroth of all people.

"What can I do for you," he asked his friend.

"May I come in?"

Angeal stepped aside to allow him to enter. He offered him a seat, but the general declined. "I won't be here long, I merely have a request."

"It must be important if you came in person," Angeal replied.

"It concerns your pupil."

The ravenette let out an exasperated sigh. "What's he done this time?"

"It's not what he's done, it's what he's hiding."

"Oh, do tell."

"I've ordered he see a counselor regarding his last mission, but he has yet to schedule an appointment."

"I see." Angeal folded his arms in thought. He hadn't spent much time with his pupil since the meeting a few days back and nothing seemed off about his student then, but the teen knew how to hide his troubles. "I'll stop by and talk with him."

"There's something else as well," Sephiroth added, he then shook his head, "Never mind, it's probably nothing."

"Don't worry Seph, I'll try and talk to him. One way or another he'll be back to his old self."

He waited a few minutes after saying farewell to his general before leaving himself and texted his student before making his way to Zack's apartment.

"_Zack, we need to talk. I'm heading to your apartment now. I expect to see you there."_

* * *

Zack and Cloud burst into his apartment only to collapse in a panting heap. It was bad enough they had to move at breakneck speed to beat Angeal to his apartment, but staying out of sight made it even more challenging.

"I can't believe we pulled that off," Cloud gasped.

"I don't know much longer I can handle this," Zack panted back. "Our luck's bound to run out sooner or later."

A knock at the door signaled Angeal's arrival. Cloud jumped up in a panic as Zack called out, "Just a minute!"

Angeal heard a crazy commotion coming from the other side of Zack's door before said teen appeared. "Hey Angeal, just uh, trying to tidy up a bit."

"Well that's a first," his mentor replied as he made his way in.

His keen eyes scanned the room for anything suspicious, but found nothing. He looked over at his pupil who was just closing the door. "For someone as energetic as yourself I'm surprised such a simple task could take your breath away. Back in your days as a Second you'd run the simulator nonstop and never get tired."

Zack's gaze darted around the room, trying to figure out an explanation. "Well, I haven't been getting much sleep lately."

"Ah, I see. That wouldn't have anything to do with your last mission, would it?"

Zack tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Angeal folded his arms and gave him a stern look. "It's okay to show sadness Zack. We've all experienced loss on missions. There was nothing you could have done and from what the reports showed it's a miracle even you survived."

Zack knew what he was getting at now. "You're here to get me into counseling, aren't you? I don't need it. I told Sephiroth the same thing."

"Sephiroth is the reason I'm here. He gave you an order and you've yet to comply."

"Because I don't need it, Angeal! I know there's nothing I could have done. It's not like we would have made a difference anyway."

"What does that mean," Angeal asked.

"You were at the meeting," Zack replied. "I told Lazard about the kid and that we were too late."

Angeal watched as his student struggled with his emotions. Zack was trying to keep himself in check, but his voice was shaky as was his fists. He approached him and placed a strong hand on his shoulder. "Zack, it's okay. Just breathe."

"Why'd they have to die, Angeal?" He couldn't help the tears that fell from is closed eyes. "Why'd they die in such a stupid way? It wasn't in the heat of battle, and it wasn't to protect others. It was a stupid freak of nature! I didn't even think about them when I crawled out. I knew they were dead, but I didn't even take a minute out to honor them or anything, I was just worried about my own stupid life."

Angeal's heart bled for his student. Zack had seen death on the battlefield and he had taken a few lives of villains in self defense, both were trying passages for any SOLDIER, but he had never lost comrades in such a way and it was a painful rite of passage. One Angeal had experienced as had the rest of those among First Class. All he could do was embrace Zack in a comforting hug.

"You did the right thing Zack. Had you stayed you would not have survived. The storms in that area are treacherous."

"But I was the commanding officer in the group and I left them behind. What sort of leader does that?"

Angeal sighed as he let go and pulled Zack away to make the teen look him in the eye. "In the Wutai war Sephiroth had to do just that. He was leading a battalion of choppers into the heart of the enemy camp for a strike attack. They knew he was coming and fired on the choppers. His was struck and he was forced with a difficult choice. He had to leap from the chopper in order to survive, but the others within weren't as lucky. Sephiroth pushed on for them and made sure the enemy paid for what they did. He hated that he had to leave them to die, but if he had stayed with them he would most likely not be here now."

Zack sighed as he wiped his eyes, feeling embarrassed for crying. Angeal just waited for him to take it all in. "Thanks Angeal. I guess I do need to schedule counseling."

"Glad to hear it," Angeal replied as he headed for the door. He then stopped and looked at the closet door before looking back at Zack. "I'll be calling tomorrow to make sure you set up an appointment ASAP."

"Yes sir, goodnight," Zack replied as Angeal let himself out.

Once he was sure Angeal was out of hearing range, Cloud emerged from the closet. "That was close," he replied. He had heard everything, but seeing that Zack was still upset he tried to get his friend's mind off the subject.

Another knock came at his door and Cloud rushed back into the closet as Zack opened the door. He was surprised to see a secretary. "This just arrived at the front desk for you sir," she stated as she handed him an envelope.

"Thanks," he replied before closing the door.

He opened it and read the letter before he smirked. "Hey Cloud, I think this is for you."

The boy emerged from the closet again and was confused. "But, who knows I'm here?"

"Nanaki and his gramps, that's who."

At the mention of those names Cloud smiled as he took the letter and read it. He then tilted his head. "What does that even mean?"

"Beats me, read it out loud," Zack replied.

Cloud cleared his throat:

"_Lonely cloud, who felt the world was lost,_

_Friends were made with passionate flames_

_The price was steep and you paid too high the cost._

_But fear not, for those dressed in red,_

_Have saved the pure, the ones whom believed were dead._

_Little cloud, who feels alone in the sky,_

_Return to the place where you awoke,_

_Please, don't be shy."_

"Can you make any sense of that chocobo scratch," asked Zack.

"It sounds like he wants me to visit," the blonde replied.

Zack shrugged, "Well I could ask for some leave time, after my counseling, that is."

"You'd do that?"

"Why wouldn't I," Zack asked. "It sounds like something important. Neither one of them spoke in riddles when we were there, so this must be a code or hidden message that they'd know only we would get, or at least understand that it was an invitation."

"True, it's hard enough sneaking around here unseen."

"Then it's settled. I'll take some vacation time and we'll head out for Cosmo Canyon."

* * *

_Next Time: Sephiroth gets suspicious, Zack deals with his issues and Cloud meets a new friend._


End file.
